The Circle's next meeting will he held at 7.00 p.m. on Friday 25 January 2019 at the City Chinese Restaurant in City University. If you want to come, please let me know by Wednesday 23rd. You can read below in both Latin and English about what happens in Latin Circles and about our rules. As far as possible, we try to talk only in Latin, but since the level of proficiency varies greatly among members, we normally use English for most of the meeting. In the next meeting we intend to read and translate verses 632 - 670 from Book II of the Aeneid and to talk in Latin about the foreign countries we most enjoy visiting. For more information, contact John Whelpton by email or on 93696180.

The folowing documents are lists of words and phrases meant to be of use in our meetings. the first is a general glossary which stil needs many additions and corrections. the second provides English versions of the names of Indian dishes and the third Latin ones. The fourth is a glossary covering all kinds of food and the art of cooking and dining and the fifth a lit of terms connected with houses, flats and furniture. Al the documents except the first were prepared by Eugene Yu.​

The City Chinese Resturant is on the 8th floor of the Amenities Block on the City University campus, which can be reached via the subway from Festival Walk. More detailed instructions are available here. It is also possible to reach the lift by going straight ahead from the subway into the Academic Building, taking the escalator on your right to the first floorand walking straight ahead.

Epistula Invitationis(2010) Iohannes Velptonius omnibus Latinistis Honcongi habitantibusPer tres quattuor annos in animo habebam societatem condere. in qua omnes Honcongenses quibus Latinitas viva cordi esset linguae usum exercere possent. Cum munus magistri linguae Anglicae in schola media nuper deposuerim, mihi otium nunc sufficit ut consilium exsequi tentem itaque hodie mihi propositum est vos omnes invitare ut sodales novae societatis – Circuli Latini Honcongensis – fiatis. Credo vos omnes scire quid sit `Circulus Latinus’ sed, ut res satis clarae sint, haec verba de Circulo Londiniensi scripta reduplicavi :.Circulus Latinus Londiniensis unus est e plurimis Circulis Latinis totius orbis terrarum qui statutis temporibus homines omne genus congregant qui Latine loqui student...Sicut plurimi alii Circuli Latini, malumus convenire in locum qui foveat convivalem aditum ad humanitatem cuius omnes possint participare, nempe in domum publicam --sic enim appellant Angli tabernas-- primo, si licet, cuiusque mensis Iovis die. Magna iucunditate omnibus de rebus Latine loqui solemus quas animum nostrum alliciunt, dum cervesiæ sextarios --ut fit apud Britannos-- bibimus vel cenamus. Sæpe etiam cum prope assidentibus sermones conserimus qui mirantur quanam lingua tam alacriter loquamur. Spero nos quoque unoquoque mense vel (si satis otii non habebimus) binis mensibus semel conventuros esse ut Latine colloquamur. Mihi videtur Tabernam Ferroviariam (Railway Tavern), quae prope stationem ferroviariam in Magnosaepto (Tai Wai) sita est, aptam esse conventibus nostris habendis. Chartam geographicam adiunxi, in qua clariter demonstratur qua via illuc perveniatur.Nihil refert si sodales Latine loquentes errores faciunt, sed maximi momenti est, dum conventus habeatur, omnes inter nos tantum Latine loqui. Non fieri potest quin in sermonibus nostris singula verba Anglica (vel Sinica vel Germanica!) interdum inseramus sed structura totius sententiae Latina remanere debet. Verbi gratia, si locutor vocabulum Latinum necessarium nescit, quaerere poterit `Quomodo `skier’ Latine dicitur?’ etc.Ut in aliis terris, eis qui Latine ipsi loqui nondum parati sunt, licebit aliorum sermones silenter audireMe certiorem, quaeso, facite utrum participes esse velitis atque, si res vos tenet, quo/quibus diebus septimanae convenire vobis commodissimum futurum sit. Si in taberna magnam turbam et clamorem evitare volemus, vesperi maturius (sexta hora?) conveniendum erit, sed fortasse multis ante septimam horam ad tabernam pervenire difficile erit.De his rebus quoque sententias vestras colligere volo.Si verba Latina mea obscura sunt, versionem anglicam infra positam videte. Respondete, quaeso, Latine vel Anglice, ut vobis ipsis placebit. Epistulam electronicam hic mittere potestis.Optime valeatisDear AllFor three or four years I’d been thinking of setting up an organisation in which all Hong Kong enthusiasts for `living Latin’ could practise using the language. As I’ve recently retired from my job as a secondary school English teacher I have enough spare time to try to carry out this plan. My purpose today is to invite you to become members of a new society – the Circulus Latinus Honcongensis.I think you all know what a `Circulus Latinus’ is, but, to make everything sufficiently clear, here’s something written about the Circulus Latinus Londiniensis The Circulus Latinus Londiniensis is one of a large number of Circuli Latini throughout the world which bring together on a regular basis people of all sorts who are keen to talk in Latin. Like most other Circuli Latini, we prefer to meet in a place that fosters a convivial and civilised atmosphere which all can share – viz. a `public house’ (the English term for a bar), if possible, on the first Thursday of every month. We talk very happily in Latin about every subject which takes our fancy while drinking pints of beer (as is the British custom) or having a meal. Often we also get into conversation with those sitting near us who wonder what language we’re talking in so energetically.I hopw we will also be able to meet once a month or (if we’re short of time) once in two months to speak Latin. It seems to me that the Railway Tavern near the KCR station in Tai Wai would be suitable for holding our meetings. I’ve attached a map showing how to get there.It doesn’t matter if members make mistakes when speaking Latin, but it’s very important that, while the meeting’s going on, we only use Latin among ourselves. It’s inevitable that we’ll sometimes slip individual English (or Chinese or German!)) words into the conversation but the overall sentence structure should remain Latin. For example, if a speaker doesn’t know the word needed in Latin, he can ask `Quomodo `skier’ Latine dicitur?’etc. As in other countries, those who are not yet ready to speak in Latin themselves will be allowed to listen quietly to others talking.Please let me know whether you are willing to take part and, if you are interested, what day or days of the week would be most convenient for you to hold the meetings. If we want to avoid crowds and noise in the pub, we should meet earlier in the evening (6 p.m.?) but perhaps for many people it will be difficult to arrive before 7. I look forward to hearing from you in Latin or English, as you prefer. You can send an email here.Best wishes,John

AIDS FOR LATIN CONVERSATION​There are books and websites which provide help for using Latin in conversation. You can download Colloquia Latina, notes which I prepared last year for use in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and also Collloquia Cottidiana, dialogues prepared by two American teachers. If you are concerned about getting vowel length right, you need to remember that there are errors in their work, but it is still a very valuable resource. Also useful is the book Nos in Schola Latine Loquimur written by Belgian teacher Thomas Elsaesser, the 1909 edition of which can be downloaded from the bottom of this page. This, however, has no vowel length markings and key phrases are glossed in French, not English. Vowel quantitites are also missing in Colloquia Latino Sermone Conscripta, which two Italian teachers, Balboni and Neri, brought out in 1937, adding an Italian tranlation and aslo praise for `fides Lictoria' (sc. Fascism)! `Gregorius Clavus' is comiling a glossary of conversational phrases culled from various classical authors in his Conversational Latin blog. There are also the lists of useful phrases and words compiled by Charles Meissner et Walter Ripman recently placed on the Internet by Carolus Rhaeticus at http://hiberna-cr.wikidot.com/downloads. In the history of Latin teaching, the dialogues written by Maturinus Corderius in the16th century are very famous. Some of them can be found, as modified last century by Arcadius Avellanus, on the St. Louis University site. Mention should also be made of an 18th century book, Familiares colloquendi formulae, which includes amongst various other phrases `Dismissa schola, tibi dentes excutiam!' (`When school's over, I'll knock your teeth out!')

As for books, the best-known is John Traupman's Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency, which is t available on bookdepository.com and(at a higher price!) from Amazon. A large part of the work can also be read online at Google Books. If you wish, you can also have a look at my copy - first come, first served! I also have copies of Angela Wilks' book, Latin for Beginners, and Sigrides Albert's Cottidie Latine Collaquamur. Sigrides 2013 Latin lecture with the same title can be viewed on YouTube: Part I (from 25.06), Part 2, Part 3 There are no subtitles but she speaks slowly and clearly.

You can also communicate with other Latinists in Latin (both written and spoken) on the Schola site, whilst my own site, Linguae also has several videos in which Latin can be heard. By registering with the Circulus Latinus Interretialis you can join a list of Latinists who converse with each other over the Skype internet phone system.

Also online are a 30-minute film in which professors speak in English about `Latin Immersion' and shorter films in which prefessors and students at the Lexington Conventiculum speak in Latin.

Two aids of very great importance were uploaded by American teachers in 2016:

Latin Listening Project: a series of videos in which a teacher talks for 1-5 minutes on a particular topic (e.g What is your favourite Greek story, the art of cooking etc.)

Quomododicitur.com: a series of dialogues in which three teachers talk together for 15-20 minutes on one individual topic (e.g. On a healthy body, On names)

Also extremely useful are the resources available at www.latinitium.com , among which is a link to a playlist of 70 hours of Latin lectures uploaded to YouTube.​The Circulus Latinus Honcongensis is an experimental venture and, although to take a full part you will need to have a basic knowledge of Latin, there will be no fluent speakers present, and probably only two people who have attended Latin conversation sessions before, so we are bound to go slow and everyone will have a chance to follow. The rules also allow the use of individual English words provided the overall sentence structure remains in Latin. Detailed vocabulary help is available on the links above and in the vocabulary list below but useful phrases for getting started include:

Sextārium cervisiae requīrō, quaesō I want a pint of beer, pleaseVīnum rubrum/album requīrit He/She wantsred/white wine.Lāminās [solanōrum] requīris?Do you want some [potato] crisps(Americānē chips)?Ministrōs rōgā ut lāminās in corbem dēpōnant Ask the staff to put the crisps in a basketAliquidne requīris?Do you want anything?Velisne ut tibi potiōnem afferam? Would you like me to get you a drink?Pōculum magnum an parvum requīris? Do you want a large glass or a small one?Habentne pōma fricta? Do they have chips (Americānēfrench fries)?Minister/ministra ad mensam veniet sed facilius The waiter/waitress will come to the table but it’s easier to est ad cartibulum īre go to the barQuantī cōnstat/cōnstant? How much does it/do they cost ?Ubi est lātrīna?Where’s the toiletIbi /in angulō sinistrō/dexterō estIt’s there/in the left-hand/right-hand cornerSpicula iaciuntThey’re throwing dartsUbi est tabella spiculāria? Where’s the dart board?Vīsne prope fenestram/iānuam sedēre? Do you want to sit near the window/doorNōn est necessārium surgere There’s no need to get upQuot sellae sunt? How many seats are there?

Cūr linguam Latīnam didicistī?Why did you learn Latin?Nōn didicī I didn’t learn it!Quia cultūra atque historia antīquae mē Because ancient culture and history attract mealliciuntQuia mē linguae tenent/alliciunt.Because languages interest/attract meQuia in scholā meā coācti sumus Because we were forced to learn Latin in schoollinguam Latīnamdiscere .Quibus aliīs linguīs loqueris?What other languages do you speak? Francogallicē, Germānicē, Sīnicē (sermōne French German Chinese (Cantonese or Putonghua) Cantonēnsī vel sermōne normālī), Iaponicē, Japanese Korean Polish Spanish GreekCoreānicē, Polonicē, Hispānicē, GraecēCur Latīne loquī vīs?Why do you want to speak Latin?Quia quī loqui nōn scit, linguā rēvērā Because if you can’t speak a language you haven’t really nōn callet. mastered itQuia Latīnē loquī iūcundum estBecause it’s fun to speak LatinQuia novae experientiae mē dēlectantBecause I like new experiencesQuot annōs linguam Latīnam discis/didicistī?How many years have you been learning/ did you learn LatinPrōnuntiātū classicō an ecclēsiasticō ūteris?Do you use the classical or the church pronunciation?Quae sunt discrīmina prīncipālia? What are the main differences?Modō ecclēsiasticō vel mediaevālī, `c’ et `g’ In the ecclesiastical or medieval style, the consonants `c’ and cōnsonantēs, cum ante `i’ vel `e’ vōcālēs `g’, when occurring before the vowels `i’ or `e’, are not hard occurrant, nōn dūrae sed mollēs sunt – ut but soft – the way the letters `ch’ and `j’ are pronounced in`ch’ et `j’ litterae Anglicē dīcuntur. Modō English. In the classical style, these consonants are alwaysclassicō hae cōnsonantēs semper ut in `cat’ pronounced as in the English words `cat’ or `game’. vel `game’ vocābulīs Anglicīs ēnūntiantur. Prōnūntiātus `ae’ diphthongī temporibus In Cicero’s time, the pronunciation of the diphthong `ae’ wasCicerōnis erat similis vōcālī in `die’ vocābulō similar to that of the vowel in the English word `die’, butAnglicō, sed aevō mediaevālī ut `ay’ in `day’. in the medieval period it was pronounced like `ay’ in ēnuntiābātur, English `day’. Aevō classicō `v’ littera ut Anglica `w’, In the classical period the letter `v’ sounded like the dīcēbātur sed aevō mediaevālī similis erat English `w’, but in medieval times it was like the English `v’Anglicae `v’ .

Quae sunt beneficia vītae Honcongēnsis? What are the advantages of living in Hong Kong?Quaestum invenīre professiōnālibus facile est It’s easy for professionals to find a job. Pecūniae comparandae ānsae multae sunt There are lots of opportunities to make money.Omnia oblectāmenta urbāna praebentur sed All the amusements of the city are available but we canfacile in rūs pulchrum pervenīmus. easily get into beautiful countryside Aestāte in ōrīs iūcundis sedēre et in marī natāre In the summer we can sit on nice beaches and swim in the possumus seaPer tōtum annum inter montēs errāre We can hike in the hills all year round.possumus Hīc cultūra orientālis adest, occidentālis. It combines eastern and western culture.quoque Facillimē ad aliās terrās itinera facere We can travel to other countries very easily.possumus A fūribus vel latrōnibus rārissime vexāmur, We aren’t often bothered by thieves or robbers and we’re in viīs sine timōre ambulāmus. not afraid when we walk in the streets. Commeātus pūblicus optimus est. Public transport is first-rate. Sententiās nostrās līberē exprimere possumus. We’re free to express our opinions.Magna pars incolārum Anglicē commūnicāre Most local people can communicate in Englishpossunt.

Quae sunt detrimenta vītae nostrae? What are the disadvantages of our lives here? Quī ingeniīs vel artibus nōn dōnātī sunt, Those who lack talents or skills suffer from poverty. paupertāte īnflīguntur.Dīvitēs dīvitiōrēs, pauperēs pauperiōrēs fīunt The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.Āēr, aqua, terra inquinātae sunt. Air, water and land are polluted In minimīs diaetīs habitāmus. We live in very small flats. In urbe ubīque sunt turbae strepitusque. In the city there are crowds and noise everywhere. Plērīque Honcongēnses in officīnīs multās Most Hongkongers have to stay long hours in theirhōrās remanēre dēbent. workplaces. Discipulīvesperīmultās per hōrās pēnsa Students need to spend many hours doing homework indēbent facerethe evening. In scholīs lycaeīsque verba ēdiscere maiōris In schools rote learning is often more important than realmōmentīsaepe est quam rem intellegere understanding.Conductōrēs operis saepe crūdēlēs sunt Employers are often harsh.Populus iūs nōn habet ēligendī omnēs Thepeople do not have the right to choose all their rulers.rēctōrēs suōs Difficile est sermōnem Cantonēnsem discere. It’s difficult to learn Cantonese.

Honcongī quae regiō tē maxime dēlectat? What area of Hong kong do you like best? Tsim Sha Tsui et Centrālem amō quod I love Tsim Sha Tsui and Central because I like big hotelsmagna dēversōria tabernaeque et activitātēs and shops and cultural activities . I like the New Territoriescultūrālēs mihi placent.Terrās Novās et and the Outlying Islands because we have peace and quietĪnsulās Remōtiōrēs amō quod pācem et theresilentium ibi habēmus

Quotā hōrā māne surgis? What time do you get up in the morning?Sextā hōrā et dimidiā 6.30Septimā hōrā et quadrante 7.15Balneōmāne an vesperī ūteris? Do you have a bath in the morning or the evening?Plērumque māne. In soliō nōn sedeō, balneō Generally in the morning. I don't sit in the bathtub but have aplūviō ūtor. shower.Quotā hōrā ientāculum sūmis? What time do you have breakfast? Octāvā hōrā At eight o’clock.Quid edis? What do you eat?Pānem tostum /frūctūs/ ova frīcta et Toast/fruit/fried eggs and bacon/cerealslardum/cereāliaQuid bibis? What do you have to drink? Theam/caffeam/lactem/aurantiī succum Tea/coffee/milk/orange juiceQuotā hōrā ad officīnam proficisceris? What time do you leave for work?Octāvā hōrā et dōdrante At 8.45Domī labōrō. I work at homeNōn est hōra cōnstitūta There's no fixed time.Quantōtemporis ad officīnam pervenīs? How long does it take you to get to work?Quinquaginta minūtīs Fifty minutes.Iter quamdiu terit? How long does the journey take?Dimidiam hōram Half an hourQuōmodo iter facis? How do you travel? Autoraedā/Raedā longā/Tramine/Currū I go by car/bus/train/tram and then walk ēlectricō vehor deinde ambulō. Birotā ūtor. I use a bike Ubi prandium sūmis? Where do you have lunch In caupōnā prope officīnam/universitātemIn a restaurant near my work/universityQuid edis? ﻿ What do you eat?Pastillum fartum/Collӯram/Iūs collӯricum/A sandwich/noodles/soup noodles/rice/dim sumOrӯzam/Cuppēdiolās Quotā horā ab officīnā proficisceris? What time do you leave work?Sextā hōrā et dimidiāAt 6.30Vesperī quid facis? What do you do in the evening?Cēnam coquō (ancillam nōn habeō) deinde I cook dinner (I don’t have a maid), then watch TV or read atēlevīsiōnem spectō vel librum legō. a book. Sometimes I dust the furniture or do otherinterdum suppelectilem detergeō vel housework. I also have to make the bed because there’s notaliās operās domesticās facio. Lectum time for that in the morning. quoque sternere dēbeō quod māne tempusnōn sufficitQuid edis vesperī? What do you eat in the evening?Varium est. Saepe būbulam vel porcīnam It varies. I often have roast beef or pork with fried potatoesassam ūnā cum solānīsfrīctīs et holeribus and vegetables. Usually I drink beer or wine. edō. Plērumque cervisiam vel vīnum bibō.Domī furculā cultellōque an bacillīs ūteris? Do you use a knife and fork or chopsticks at home? Sī orӯzam vel collӯram edō, bacillīs, If I’m having rice or noodles I use chopsticks, if it’s sī cibum occidentālem, cultellō et furculā. Western food, a knife and fork.Quandō cubitum īs? When do you go to bed?Inter hōrās ūndecimam et duodecimam. Between 11 and 12. I normally listen to the radio before ISoleō antequam dormiam, radiophōnum go to sleep au﻿dī﻿re,

Quī scrīptōrēs Latīnī tibi maximē placent? Which Latin authors do you like best?Inter scrīptōrēs classicōs mihi Ovidius Among the classical authors I particularly like Ovid praecipuē placet quod fābulās iūcundās because he tells attractive stories with elegance and cum ēlegantiā et facētiīs nārrat et wit and has a good understanding of the psychologypsychologiam amantium bene intellegit of lovers.Quid dē Vergiliō? What about Virgil? Est nōbilitās quaedam in versibus illīus There’s a certain nobility in his poetry and most people et librī priōrēs Aeneidos plērōsque alliciunt. find the first books of the Aeneid attractive. Nihilōminus rēs quās scrīpsit interdum Still, what he wrote is sometimes rather boring, unlesssatis taediōsae sunt, nisi lectōrem proelia the reader is very interested in battles and agriculture! et agricultūra maximē tenent.Nōnne versūs Catullī multōs iuvenēs dēlectant? Don’t many young people like the poetry of Catullus?Rectē dīxistī. Dē gaudiō dolōreque amōris You’re right. He wrote with great opnness about the joy and sine dissimulātiōne scrīpsit. Etiam (vel potius the pain of love. Even (or should that be `especially’!) praecipuē!) carmina quae obscaena habērī the poems that could be considered obscene appeal to lots possunt multīs lectōribus placent! of readers!Sī discipulus rudīmentalinguaedidicit, quae If a student has learned the basics of the language, what operaprīmum legenda sunt? things should he or she read first? Fortassē nōn opera classica sed librī Perhaps to start with they shouldn’t read classical works simpliciōrēs in prīncipiō legendī sunt.Verbī but simpler books. For example, the Epitome of Roman grātiā, Epitomē Historiae Rōmānae ab History by Eutropius or the Bible. Eutrōpiō scrīpta vel Biblia Sacra.Nōnne tū ipse Caesaris opera prīmum lēgistī? Didn’t you yourself read Caesar first?Ōlim in multīs terrīs discipulī commentāriōs In many countries students used to read Caesar’s Caesaris prīmum legēbant et nūper in commentaries first and recently in American schools partsscholīs Americānīs partēs librī `Dē Bellō of `De Bello Gallico’ have been put on the syllabus for theGallicō’ in syllabō probātiōnis superiōris, quae higher examination they call AP (`Advanced AP dīcitur, inclūsae sunt. Latīnitās Caesaris Placement’). Caesar’s Latin is certainly good and his certissimē bona est et verba eius faciliōra language is easier to understand than that of Tacitus, Livy intellectū sunt quam Tacitī, Liviī vel Sallustiī. or Sallust. Still, not everybody is interested in militaryHistoria militāris, tamen, nōn omnēs tenet. history.Nōnne Latīnitās Cicerōnis est optima? Isn’t Cicero’s Latin the best?Scrīptor eximius erat sed tirōnēs orātiōnēs He was an excellent writer but he’s difficult for beginners to eius nōn facilē intellegunt. understand.Quid dē scrīptōribus mediaevālibus vel What do you think about medieval or neo-Latin writers?neo-Latīnīs putās?Multī putant linguam mediaevālem faciliōrem Many people think the medieval language is easier because esse quod syntaxis et vocābulā similiōra sunt because the syntax and vocabulary are more similar to thelinguīs Europaeīs hodiernīs. Exemplī grātiā, modern European language. For example, in the medieval aevō mediaevālī ōrātiō oblīqua simplicior facta period indirect speech became simpler because instead of est quia nōn accūsātīvus infīnītīvusque sed the accusative and infinitive they started using the `quod’ coniūnctiō et clausula adhibēbantur. conjunction `quod’ plus a clause.Dē Latīnitāte recentiōre nōndum dīxistī. You didn’t say anything about more recent Latin.Liber `De viris illūstribus’, historia contracta The `De viris illustribus’ (`On Famous Men’), an abridged reīpūblicae Rōmānae, quae saeculō decimō history of the Roman republic that was written in the octāvō scrīpta est, ūsuī est eīs quī rudīmenta 18th century is useful for people who have just learned grammaticae Latīnae nūper didicērunt. the basics of Latin grammar.Most worth reading, Dignissimus tamen lectū est liber annō mīl- however, is the book published in the year 1884 by lēsimō octingentēsimo quārtō ā Franciscō Francis Ritchie which is entitled `Fabulae Faciles' (Easy Ritchie ēditus, c.t. `Fābulae Facilēs.’ Est Stories). There is a recent version of this work which versiō recēns operis, quam praeparāvit et in was prepared and uploaded to the Internet by Geoffrey Interrētī posuit Galfrīdus Steadman: Steadmanhttp://geoffreysteadman.com/ritchies-fabulae-faciles/ Necesse est lectōribus scīre omnēs fi﻿gū﻿rās It's necessary for readers to know all the forms of nounsnōminum et tempora indicātīva verbōrum sed and verb tenses in the indicative but in the opening chapters in prīmīs capitulīs nōn adhibentur modus sub- neither the subjunctive mood nor the ablative absolute not iunctīvus neque ablātīvus absolūtus, neque reported speech are encountered. before he can begin ōrātiō oblīqua. Discipulō, antequam legere reading, the student has to learn off a list of 150 of the incipiat, ēdiscenda est index centum quīnquā- words that occur most frequently in the text. In the gintā vocābulōrum frequentissimōrum. In main part of the book explanations of all the words whichparte prīncipālī librī pōnuntur textuī Latīnō are notincluded in the list, together with note on points of adversae explicātiōnēs omnium verbōrum in grammar are placed on pages facing the Latin text. Theindice nōn inclūsōrum necnōn commentāriī stories included are those of Pereus, Hercules, Jason and grammaticī. Nārrantūr fābulae dē Perseō, Ulysses. Ritchie intended students to read these first Hercule, Iasone et Ulixe, quās Ritchie volēbat before embarking on their study of the writings of Julius discipulōs, antequam Caesaris operibus Caesar. studērent, prīmum legere,Et dē Latīnitāte hodiernā? And contemporary Latin?Omnibus suādeō ut Nūntiōs Latīnōs I’d encourage everyone to listen to and read `NuntiiHelsinkiēnsēs in interrētī audiant et legant. Latini’ ( Latin News) from Helsinki.

Dē linguīs discendīs et docendīs

Quae est methodus optima linguae discendae? What’s the best method for learning a language? Difficile est breviter respondēre quod nōn It’s difficult to give a short reply because not all people omnēs eōdem modō discunt. Verbi grātiā. learn the same way. For example, for some listening isaliīs audīre, aliīs legere facilius est. easier and for others reading.Quōmodo tū ipse discere māvīs? How do you prefer to lean yourself? Memoria mea est vīsuālis, et difficile est My memory is visual and it’s difficult for me to distinguish mihī novōs sonōs discernere vel imitārī. or imitate new sounds. So, I enjoy reading, but I don’t deny Itaque legere mihī libet, neque tamen that listening and speaking are very important.negō audīre et loquī magnī momentī esse.Magistrī Latīnitātis quibus methodīs ūtuntur? What methods do Latin teachers use? Sunt fortasse trēs methodī prīncipālēs quibus Perhaps there are three methods by which beginners are tirōnēs lingua Latīna docētur: formīs taught Latin: by the presentation and memorisation of vocābulōrum et rēgulīs grammaticīs vocabulary and grammatical rules or through the reading of dēmōnstrandīs atque ēdiscendīs, vel textibus Latin texts or by oral communication in Latin. In schools Latīnīs legendis vel Latīnē vīvā vōce and universities for three hundred years the first and second commūnicandō. In scholīs et ūniversitātibus methods have generally been employed but in the medieval per trēcentōs annōs methodī prīma et period and during the Renaissance conversation was a large secunda plērumque adhibentur sed aevō part of the curriculum. Now the supporters of `living Latin’ mediaevālī et tempore Renascentiae sermōnēs are arguing that students should hear Latin and also serere erat pars magna curriculī. Nunc converse in it themselves. fautōrēs `Latīnitātis vīvae’ suādent ut discipulīLatīnē et audiant et ipsī colloquantur.Quae methodus tibī ipsī placet? What method do you favour yourself?Crēdō optimum esse in omnibus trībus viīs I believe the best thing is to advance by all three routes so prōgredī ut in lectiōnibus variētās augeātur that there’s increased variety in lessons and the students use et discipulī auribus, oculīs et ōre discent. their ears, eyes and mouth to learn. Verbī grātiā, exercitia grammatica vīvā vōce For example, grammar drills can be conducted orally in Latīnē fiērī possunt, et, postquam fābulae Latin, and after the reading of stories the teachers ought lectae sunt, magistrī quaestiōnēs Latīnās toask questions in Latin and the students respond in Latindare, discipulī Latīne respondēre dēbent.Quōmodō lingua Anglica Honcongī docētur? How is English taught in Hong Kong? Grammaticae et vocābulīs ediscendīs multum A lot of time is allocated to grammar and to the learning of temporis attribuitur sed in maiōre parte vocabulary but in the majority of schools teachers do try to scholārum magistrī in lectiōnibus Anglicē communicate in English. commūnicāre cōnantur. In Britanniā quae linguae in scholīs docentur? What languages are taught in British schools? Prō pudor, plērīque Britannī, nisi nātī sunt in I’m ashamed to say that most Britons, unless they were rēgiōnibus quibusdam Cambriae vel parentēs born in some parts of Wales or their parents are ā terrā aliēnā immigrāvērunt, nihil aliud immigrants from a foreign country, don’t lean anything well quam linguam Anglicam ipsam bene discunt. except for English itself. In a lot of schools, though, French In multīs scholīs, tamen, lingua Francogallica is taught. Nowadays teachers get the students to listen to the docētur. Nunc magistrī faciunt ut discipulī language and to say simple phrases themselves. Back in thelinguam audiant et iunctūrās simplicēs ipsī 1960s things were different. In my school, after he had dīcant. Annīs sexāgēsimīs rēs aliter sēsē greeted us in French, the teacher used to explain the French habēbant. In scholā meā magister, postquam textsand the grammatical rules in English! nōs Francogallicē salūtāvit, textūs Francogallicōs et rēgulās grammaticās Anglicē explicābat!Peregrīnī quī Honcongī habitant, quōmodo How do foreigners living in Hong Kong learn Cantonese and sermōnem Cantonēnsem et litterās Sīnicās written Chinese discunt? Prō pudor plūrimī peregrīnī minimē discunt. I’m ashamed to say that most foreigners learn very little. Etiam līberī eōrum saepe in `scholīs inter- Even their children are often taught in `international nātiōnālibus’ docentur, ubi tantum schools, where they only have to communicate in English!Anglicē est commūnicandum! Nōnne scholae internātiōnālēs cārae sunt? Aren’t the international schools expensive?Rēcte dīxistī! Multī parentēs nōn satis dīvitēs That’s right. Many parents are not rich enough to send sunt ut līberōs in tālēs scholās mittant. Quam their children to that type of school. As a result, there are ob rem multae difficultātēs oriuntur; līberī, a lot of problems, as children who can’t speak Cantonese enim, quī Cantonicē loquī vel Sīnicē scrībere or write Chinese can’t easily learn in local schools, evennesciunt, nōn facile in scholā locālī discere if the school management is willing to admit them.possunt etiamsī rēctōrēs scholae eōs admittere cōnsentiuntDiscipulī peregrīnī nunquam in scholīs Do foreign pupils never learn successfully in local schools?normālibus bonō cum ēventū discunt? Sī ab aetāte minimā in tālibus scholīs sunt, If they are in that type of school from a very young age, they linguae et cultūrae assuēscere possunt. In can get used to the language and culture. In our own groupgrege nostrō est Austrāliāna, cuius fīlius in we have an Australian whose son is in a local school. Thescholā locālī studet. Pater est Coreānus et father is Korean and the grandfather, who learned Chinese avus, quī litterās Sīnicās in Coreā didicit, characters in Korea, gives some help but he doesn’t know auxilium dat sed sermōnem Cantōnēnsem nōn any Cantonese. The mother herself has decided to learn the scit . Māter ipsa litterās illās cum prōnuntiātū characters with their Cantonese pronunciation both so she Cantonēnsī discere constituit, quia fīlium in can help her son with his lessons and because it’s fun in lectiōnibus adiuvāre vult et quod rēs ipsa itself. iūcunda estItaque nōn omnēs umbrivirī ignāvī sunt in rēbuslinguisticīs? So not all gweilos are linguistically lazy?Ita vērō. Dicendum quoque est propagātōrēs That’s certainly right. It should also be said that Christian fideī Christiānae, administrātōrēs et custōdēs missionaries, administrators and policemen from other pūblicōs ab aliīs terrīs oriundōs saepe linguam countries often learned the language successfully. In our bonō cum ēventū didicisse. In circulō nostrō Circulus we also have a Briton who held a senior position est etiam Britannus, quī in gradū superiōre in the administration and now not only can speak and read officiō pūblicō fungēbātur et nunc nōn sōlum Chinese but also teaches Chinese history and the cultureSīnicē colloquī et legere potest sed etiam of Hong Kong. historiam Sīnicam et cultūram Honcongēnsem docet.Nōnne multī peregrīnī linguam Anglicam in Aren’t there a lot of foreigners teaching English in Hongscholīs Honcongēnsibus docent? Kong schools?Ita est. Plūs octogentī magistrī aliēnī sunt in That’s right. There are over eight hundred expatriate gradū speciālī cui nōmen est `NET’ sive teachers in a special grade known as `NET’ or `Native Native-English-Speaking Teacher’, Latīnē English Speaking Teacher, which in Latin is `Magister`Magister Anglicē Nātīvē Loquēns’ Multī aliī Anglice Native Loquens’. Many other foreigners work in aliēnigenae in scholīs, universitātibus et schools, universities or private homes.domibus prīvātīs labōrant.Istī NETī (sīlicet abbreviātiōnem sīc Latīnizāre) Do those `NETi’ (if you can Latinize the acronym that way)tantum linguam Anglicam an etiam aliās just teach English or other subjects as well?disciplīnās docent?Plūrimī nihil praeter linguam maternam suam Most of them don’t teach anything except their own motherdocent sed in quibusdam scholīs cursūs brevēs tongue but in some schools they provide short courses in linguārum aliāum, ut Francogallicae vel other languages like French or Latin as extra-curricular Latīnae, extra curriculum regulāre habendōs activities.cūrant.Tūne tālēs cursūs docēbās? Did you teach courses like that?Cum NETus essem, cursūs variōs condidī. Ipse When I was a NET I set up various courses. I taughtlinguam Latīnam docēbam sed semper Latin myself but I always wanted to find native speakers volēbam locūtōrēs nātīvōs invenīre quī linguās to teach French, Spanish and the rest However, if I Francogallicam, Hispānicam et cēterās wasn’t able to get hold of that kind of help, I used to docērent. Sī, tamen, nōn poteram tāle auxilium teach French myself. I generally set things up so the adipīscī ipse Francogallicam docēbam. students would hear the voices of real French people Plērumque efficiēbam ut discipulī vōcēs over the Internet but it was often necessary to use my ipsōrum Francogallōrum per interrēte own really awful pronunciation, and then I seemed to hear audīrent sed saepe necessārium erat prō- Victor Hugo and other famous writers turning in their nuntiātū meō valdē horribilī ūtī, quō tempore graves vidēbar Victōrem Hugōnem et aliōs scrīptōrēs praeclārōs in sepulchrīs sē volventēs audīre!Tibi melius placet linguam Anglicam an linguās Do you like teaching English or other languages better?aliās docēre? Ut rem vēram dīcam, mālō aliās. Sentiō linguam To tell the truth, I prefer the other ones. I feel that teaching māternam docēre rem esse satis taediōsam. your own mother tongue is rather boring. Sī rēs sēsē ita habent, cur multōs per annōs If that’s the case, why have you kept on teaching thatlinguam illam docēre pergis? language for many years? Ob necessitūdinem ēconomicam. Labor mihi Out of economic necessity. I don’t like the work at allminimē est cordī sed, ut saepe per iocum dīcō but, as I often say for a joke, selling your mother tonguemelius est linguam māternam quam ipsam is better than selling your mother!mātrem vēndere!Sed sīlinguam nostram māternam docēmus, But if we’re teaching our mother tongue, we can be nōbīs cōnfīdere possumus. Magistrīs quī linguam confident in ourselves. For teachers who are teaching a aliam quam suam docent, tōtum in librō vel in language other than their own, everything generally dependsinterrētī plērumque positum est sed locūtōrēs on the book or the Internet but native speakers can themselvesnātīvī rēs in librīs et interrētī praebitās ipsī correct what’s presented in books or on the Net.corrigere possunt.Rectē dīxistī sed trēs causae sunt propter quās You’re right but there are three reasons why I don’t like linguam Anglicam docēre mihi nōn placet. teaching English. First, other languages are novelties which Prīmum, linguae aliae sunt rēs novae quae interest me more than a language I’ve been using all my life. mē plūs tenent quam linguā quam per tōtam Secondly, if I’m teaching a language which I myself learnedvītam ūsūrpō. Deinde sī linguam doceō quam as a second language, I can lead my students along the same egō ipse ut linguam secundam didicī, eādem viā, path by which I learned the language myself. Learning your discipulōs dūcere possum quāipse linguamyour native language, in contrast, is something very illamdidicī. Linguam nātīvam discere, autem, different est rēs valdē dissimilis.Quid est causa tertia? What’s the third reason? Est rēs quae forsitan rātiōne caret sed in animō It’s something that’s maybe unreasonable, but is importantmeō magnī est momentī. Cum Honcongī in my mind. When I was first in Hong Kong, I expected thatprīmum essem , exspectābam mē quattuor within four or five years my Cantonese listening and quīnque annīs sermōne Cantonēnsī tam bene speaking would be so good that, unless I chose to use audītūrum et locūtūrum esse ut, nisi ipse English for educational reasons, I could carry out almostlinguam Anglicam ob necessitātem all my everyday activities using Cantonese. Things didn’t acadēmicam ūsūrpāre eligerem, paene omnia turn out that way and I felt disappointed. And so, strange opera cottidiāna Cantonicē agere possem. Nōn to say, when I’m teaching English I feel as if I’m in anfuit tālis ēventus, spē dēceptus sum. Itaque, inferior position because colleagues and many students mīrābile dictū, ubi linguam Anglicam doceō, are bilingual but not me. If, in contrast, I’m teaching Latinsentiō mē quasi in stātū īnferiōrē esse quod the students are in control of English and Chinese, whilst collēgae et multī discipulī sunt bilinguālēs, I’m in control of English and Latin. We’re all bilingual and neque tamen ego. Sī autem linguam Latīnam my honour is restored!doceō, discipulī linguīs Anglicā et Sīnicā potiuntur, ego Anglicā et Latīnā potior. Omnēs sumus bilinguālēs, mihi redditus est honor!

Dē Poēsī Latīnā

Crēdō systēmata numerōrum in poēsī antīquā et I believe the metrical structure of ancient and modern poetryhodiernāmaximē inter sēdifferre. are very different.Ita vērō. Aevō enim classicō tōtum in `pondere’ Absolutely. As in the classical period everything depended vel `longitūdine’ syllabārum, aevīs on the `weight’ or `length’ of syllables and in more recentiōribus in accentū positum est. recent times it has depended on stress.Nōnne aevō classicō verba Latīna accentūs Didn’t Latin words have a stress accent in classical times?habēbant? Habēbant sed in metrō minōris momentī erant They did, but the stresses were less important for the accentūs. Audī, exemplī grātiā, versum metre. Listen, for example, to the first line of theprīmum Aenēidos: Aeneid:.`Arma virumque canō, Troiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs 'Arms and the man I sing, who first from Troy’s shores In `canō' vocābulō prīma syllaba acuitur sed In the word `cano’ the first syllable is stressed butlevis syllaba est et ultima in pede. this is light and the last syllable in the foot.Ubi versum recitāvistī, accentum nātūrālem When you recited the line, you kept the regular wordvocābulī retinuistī . Nōnne melius est accentum stress. Isn’t it better to transfer the stress to the initialad prīmam syllabam cuiusque pedis trānsferre? syllable of each foot? Listen to me:Mē audī: `Arma virumque canō, Troiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs’ Arms and the man I sing, who first from Troy’s shoresMultī magistrī discipulōs iubēbant accentum Many teachers used to tell their students to put the in prīmam syllabam pedis pōnere, in quō stress onthe first syllable of the foot, the place where dīcēbant `ictum’ incidere. Plūrimī doctī, tamen, they said the `beat’ fell. However, most scholarscrēdunt ipsōs Rōmānōs accentūs orīginālēs believe that the Romans themselves always followed semper secūtōs esse. Cum recitārent et the inherent stresses. When they were reciting, theygravitūdinem syllabārum et accentum vocābulōtook into account both syllable weight and word -rum respiciēbant. Multī hominēs doctī affirmant stress. Many scholars claim that the relationshiprātiōnem quoque inter pondus et accentumsatisbetween weight and stress was also of considerablemagnī momentī esse. Sī `ictus’ et accentus in importance. If the `beat’ and the stress fall on the eādem syllabā stant, signum est rēī perfectae vel same syllables, it is a sign of completeness and harmoniae. Sī autem `ictus’ in syllabīs nōn acūtīs harmony. On the other hand, if the `beat’ falls on incidit, signum est discordiae rixārumque. Itaque un-stressed syllables, it is a sign of discord and conflict. in fīne cuiusque versūs hexametrī prīmae syllabae So at the end of each hexameter the first syllablesquīntī et sextī pedum paene semper accentum syllablesof the fifth and sixth feet are almostalways habent.Quīntus pes est plērumquedactylus stressed ones. The fifth foot is generally a dactyl (long-(longa –brevis – brevis) et sextus spondaeus short-short) and the sixth a spondee (long –long) or(longa – longa) vel trochaeus(longa – brevis) trachee (long – short).Possumusne in Interrētī perītōs rērum metricārum Can we hear experts on metre reciting poetry onversūs recitantes audīre? the Internet ? Certissime, Mihi placet vōx professōris Americānī Indeed we can. I like the voice of an American Robertī Sonkowski. In Interrētī illum prīmōs Professor, Robert Sonkowski. We can hear him on quinquaginta versūs Aenēidos recitantem audīre the Net reciting the first fifty lines of the Aeneid.possumus. Videndum est : http://www.rhapsodes.fll.vt.edu/aeneid1.htm

Dē feriīs aestīvīs

Quid fēcistī in feriīs aestīvīs? Dē Honcongō What did you do in the summer holidays? Did youexcessistī? leave Hong Kong ?Ita vērō. Ad Estōniam et Britanniam īvī ut familiārēs Yes, I did. I went to Estonia and to Britain to visit visitārem. Diēs iūcundōs agēbam sed semper laetus relatives. I had a good time but I’m always glad sum cum Honcongum revertar. when I get back to Hong KongIn Britanniā tumultibus occurristī? Did you run into any riots in Britain?Minimē. In regiōnibus ubi ipse iter faciēbam omnia No. In the areas where I was travelling myselfpācifera erant. Satis tamen terribile erat tumultōs everything was calm. But it was frightening enoughillōs in televisiōne spectāre, just watching the riots on TVEt tū? Ubi īvistī ? What about you? Where did you go ?Mihi ad Germāniam perveniendum erat ut I had to get to Germany take part in a `Living Latin’ seminārium Latinitātis vīvae Augustae Trēverōrum seminarium in Trier. participārem.Quid accidit in tālibus semināriīs? What happens in those seminaria? Nōs acroāsēs Latīnās audīmus, sermōnēs Latīnōs We hear lectures in Latin and discuss in Latin. disserimus. Nōn licet etiam in refectōriō vel in It’s not allowed to speak other languages even in andrōnibus aliīs linguīs colloquī. the dining hall or the corridors.Omnēsne hanc rēgulam sequēbantur? Nōnne scīs Did everyone follow that rule? Don’t you know thatHoncongī discipulōs, etiamsī inter sē Anglicē collo- inHong Kong even if students are told to talk quī iubeantur, saepe Cantonēnsī sermōne ūtī pergere? together in English they often still use Cantonese? In semināriō nostrō, paene omnēs tantum Latīnē In our seminarium almost everyone spoke only in colloquēbantur sed ūna magistra erat quae extrā Latin but there was one teacher who tried to sessiōnēs officiālēs Anglicē loquī tentābat. speak English outside the formal sessions.Magistrane erat Britanna vel Americāna? Was the teacher British or American?Minimē. Erat Germāna sed linguāAnglicā callēbat No. She was German but she had excellent et volēbat celeriter communicāre, quae rēs, sī English and wanted to communicate quickly, whichlingua Latīna adhibētur, nōn potest fierī, nisi is not possible using Latin, unless all participantsomnēs participēs multōs annōs ūsum Latīnitātis have many years’ experience of using `Living vīvae exercēre solent. . Latin’Erant omnēs quī participābant Latīnistae perītī? Were all those taking part expert Latinists?Inter variōs hominēs gradus Latīnitātis magnopere Different individuals had very different levels ofvariābat. Aderant duo Italiānī quī paene tam bene Latin. There were two Italians there who spoke Latīnē quam Italicē loquī sciēbant. Omnēs aliī Latin almost as well as they spoke Italian.All the nōtiōnēs simplicēs et intellegere et ipsī exprimere others could understand simple concepts and poterant neque tamen facere poterant quīn express them themselves,but they had no choice lentē colloquerentur. Sī dē activitātibus nostrīs other than to speak slowly. If you want to know plūra scīre vīs, potes apud Interrēte symbolam more about our activities, you can read an article legere in quā dē semināriō aliō in mōnastēriō on the Internet which deals at length with another Ottiliēnsī habitō in extēnsō agitur. Symbola, quae seminarium held at the monastery of St. Ottilien.Latīnē scrīpta est, praebētur apud: The article (in Latin) is at:http://linguae.weebly.com/seminarium-ottiliense.htmlQuālis est urbs ipsa Augusta Trēverōrum? What is Trier itself like? Urbs parva est et amoena, in rīpā Mosellae flūminis It’s a small and pleasant city on the bank of thesita. Nunc rem vix crēderēs, sed rēvērā urbs Moselle. You’d hardly believe it now, but it wasōlim maxima erat ultrāAlpēs atque caput omnium once the largest city north of the Alps and the prōvinciārum septentriōnālium. Partēs multōrum capital for all the northern provinces. Parts of aedificiōrum Rōmānōrum adhūc ibi remanent, many Roman buildings still remain there and inter quae praeclārissima est Porta Nigra. the most famous is the Porta Nigra (Black Gate) Napōleon imperātor, cum mūrōs fortificātiōnēsque When the emperor Napoleon was ordering the omnium urbium sub dīciōne suā dēlērī iubēbat, destruction of the walls and fortifications of all Portae Nigrae illae pepercit quod nōn erat strūc- cities underhis control, he spared the Porta tūra mediaevālis sed Rōmāna. Nigra because it was not medieval but Roman.Et tū? Hōc annō iter in Nepālum fēcistī? And you? Did you go to Nepal this year? Ita vērō. Ibi duās septimānās agēbam ut notitiās dē Yes, I did. I spent two weeks there to collect rēbus politicīs ut semper colligerem et cum information on politics as usual and to visit discipulā Honcongēnsī, quae palmam in certāmine temples and other well-known sites with a ad litterās pertinentī reportāverat, templa et aliōs Hong Kong student who’d won a literarysitōs praeclāros īnspicerem. competition.Quid erat certāmen illud? What was the competition? Discipulī quī in ūniversitātibus Honcongēnsibus Students studying in Hong Kong universities stūdēbant invitātī sunt dē themate `Terra Montis were invited to write a short article on the Everest’ symbolam brevem scrībere. Licēbat dē topic `Land of Everest’.They could tackle any quīslibet rēbus – geōgraphicīs, cultūrālibus, aspect they wanted – geographical, cultural, politicīs etc. – agere. Discipula quae symbolam political and so on. The student who wrote theoptimam scrīpsit potuit sine sumptū septem diēs best article was able to travel in Nepal for in Nepālō iter facere. seven days free-of-charge.Qua societāte āeriā ūsī estis? What airline did you use? In āeroplānīs Societātis Āeriae Nepālicae Kāstaman- We flew to Kathmandu and returned to Hong dapum volāvimus et Honcongum reversīsumus. Kong in Nepal Airlines planes. Perhaps you’ve Fortasse audīvistī societātem illam difficultātibus heard that the company has been having quibusdam labōrāre sed sēcūrē itinera fēcimus neque difficulties, but we had a safe journey andmūrēs vīdimus! didn’t see any mice!

Quid facere solēs in ōtiō? What do you normally do in your spare time? Rēs dīversās faciō sed mē praecipuē dēlectat in I do various things, but i particularly like singing chorō canere. in the choir.Quid canis? What do you sing?Chorī nostrī prōpositum est opera Iōhannis Our choir’s purpose is to perform the works of Iohan Sebastiānī Bāchī ēdere, cuius mūsica, ut mihi Sebastian Bach. In my opinion, his music is the best.vidētur, optima est.Num ōtium tōtum canēns cōnsūmis? Surely you don’t spend all your time singing?Minimē, alia oblectāmenta quoque habeō, inter No, I have other amusements, including hiking in the quae sunt ambulāre per montēs et librōs and writing booksscrībere.Quālem librum nunc scrībis? What kind of book are you writing at the moment? Dē lēgibus veteribus ad praedia in Terrīs Novīs I’m finishing a book on the old legal system for landpossidenda pertinentibus librum nunc perficiō tenure in the New Territories.Scrīpsistīne aliōs librōs? Have you written any other books?Ita vērō. Dē bellō brevī in Terrīs Novīs annō mil- Yes, indeed. I wrote a book on the war that took placelēsimō octogentēsimō nōnāgesimō nōnō gestō in the New Territories in 1899.librum scrīpsī.Nēsciēbam bellum eō tempore ortum esse. QuisI didn’t know a war broke out at that time. Who was contrā quem pugnābat? Et ob quam causam? fighting who? And what was it about?Quīdam ex incolīs Terrārum Novārum copiīs Some of the inhabitants of the New Territories were Britannicīs resistēbant, quī illā rēgiōne, postquam resisting the British troops who were taking over theab Imperātōre Sīnicō lōcāta est, potiēbantur. area after the Chinese emperor leased it out.Et tibi quid agere placet ? And what do you like to do ? Acroāsēs dē histōriā et dē scientiā linguisticā saepe I often hear lectures on history and linguistics and audiō et membrum sum Ūniōnis Ūniversālis I’m a member of the International Committee for the Interlinguae Prōmovendae. Promotion of Interlingua.Quid est `Interlingua’ ? What is `Interlingua’ ? Est lingua artificiālis quae ex elementīs com- It’s an artificial language made up of commonmūnibus linguārum Rōmānōrum hodiernōrum elements made up from the modern Romancecōnstat. Crēdimus melius fore sīgentēs tālem languages. We believe that it will be better if nations linguam internātiōnālem auxiliārem potius quam use this kind of international auxiliary language lingūam Anglicam inter sē adhibeant, rather than English to communicate with each other.Et quid aliud facis? And what else do you do? Mē dēlectat cum amīcīs vīnum vel cervisiam bibere I enjoy drinking wine or beer with friends while et sermōnēs Anglicē, Sīnicē, Rūssicē, Francogallicē. talking in English, Chinese, Russian, French, German Germānicē vel Latīnē disserere. Utinam quoque or Latin. It would be great if I also had a chance to use Volapuk, linguae artificiālis antīquissimae, Volapuk, the oldest artificial language, but apart from adhibendae occāsiōnem habērem, sed Honcongīmy self there’s nobody in Hong Kong who knows howpraeter mēipsum nēmō est quī linguāillāloquī to speak it!sciat!Nōnne Bulgāricē, Esperanticē et aliīs linguīs quoque Don’t you also speak Bulgarian, Esperanto and other loqueris? languages?Ita est, sed indīcem iam satis longam fēcimus! Yes, but we’ve got a long enough list already!Quae activitātēs plūrimōs ex Honcongēnsibus What activities do most Hong Kong people enjoy ?dēlectant?Multi puerī et puellae īnstrūmentīs mūsicīs canere Many boys and girls learn to play musical discunt, ut clāvicordiō, violīnā, tubā, tībiā et cēterīs. instruments, like the piano,violin, trumpet, flute etc.Multī quoque in āthleticā versantur. Many also do sports.Tū ipse āthlēticīs lūdis? Do you yourself play any sportsLūdō. Amō tenīsiam, pedilūdium et corbifollis lūdum. I do. I love tennis, football and basketball. I’m Mēmaximē dēlectat nartātiō sed Honcongīclīvōs especially fond of skiing but we don’t have any ski nartātōriōs nōn habēmus itaque hieme iter in slopes in Hong Kong and so I usually take a trip to Eurōpam vel Coream facere soleō. Europe or Korea in the winter.Nōnnēmultōs Honcongēnsēs rēs in tabernīs emere et Don’t many Hong Kong people enjoy shopping and in caupōnīs cēnāre dēlectat? eating in restaurants?Rēctissimē dīxistī! Iūcundum quoque est apud You’re absolutely right! It’s also pleasant to go to bars diversōria magna oecōs frequentāre et cantātrīcēs in the big hotels and listen to the Filipino singers. NorPhilipīnnās audīre. Neque oblīvīscendum est should we forget that many older people very muchmultōs seniōrēs lūdō passerum valdē fruī. enjoy a game of mahjong,Crēdōautem nōs multās hōrās in interrētī cōnsūmere? And I think we spend a lot of time on the Internet? Certissimē. Examplīgrātiā, ego ipse saepe Librō Certainly. For example, I myself often use Facebook. Prosopogrāphicō ūtor.Nōnne sollicitus es nē rēs prīvātae tuae dīvulgentur? Aren’t you worried about losing your privacy? In interrētī sunt semper difficultātēs securitātis et, There are always problems with security on the etiamsī optiōnēs prīvitātis cautē ēligimus, fierī Internet and even if we select our security optionspotest ut nuntiōs quōs tantum `amīcīs’ mittimus carefully there’s a possibility that messages sent onlyad aliōs perveniant. Quārē ipse rēgulam maximī for `friends’ may reach others. That’s why I’ve made momentī mihi cōnstituī, scilicet nihil in Librum a very important rule for myself – never to place Prosōpogrāphicum pōnere quod nōlim in pagīnīs anything on Facebook if I wouldn’t want to see it in actōrum diurnōrum vidēre. Sī dē rē prīvātā agitur, the newspapers. When it’s a private matter, it shouldnōn in forō sociālī sed per epistulam vel ōre vīvōnot be discussed in `social media' but by letter orcolloquendum est. face-to-faceSuntne fora interrētiālia in quibus ūsum Latīnitātis Are there Internet forums where we can practise realvīvae exercēre possumus? communication in Latin?Ita vērō. Fortassēinter ea vetustissimus et praeclā- Yes, indeed. Perhaps the oldest and most famous ofrissimus est Grex Latīnē Loquentium, cuius sodālēs them is the Grex Latine Loquentium, whose members commercium epistulārum electronicārum faciunt. correspond with each other by e-mail.There are Sunt fere trecentī Latinīstae quīnōmina sua in around three hundred Latinsts who have signed up hunc gregem dedērunt sed inter eōs nōn plūs for this group but out of them no more than twenty vigintī rēgulāriter epistulās scrībunt, aliītantum regularly write letters and the others just stay hiddenlatitant leguntque. Erat etiam Schola, situs inter- and read. There was also Schola, an interactive site set actīvus a magistrō Londiniēnsī Molendināriō (vulgōup by a London teacher, Molendinarius (aka EvanEvan Millner) conditus. Paene duo mīlia hominum Millner). Almost two thousand people had signed up nōmina in situm dederant, qui eōdem modō atque for this site and, in the same way as on Faceboook, in Librō Prosōpogrāphicō nuntiōs in areīs commū- they could place messages in public areas or on other nibus vel in pagīnīs aliōrum sodālium pōnere, members’ pages and also send private letters to eachepistulās quoque prīvātās mittere poterant. Apud other. On this site they also had a `Scriptorium’, hunc situm erant etiam `Scrīptōrium’, in quōwhere members could communicate with short sodālēs sententiīs brevibus in `fenestrā’ scrīptīs sentences typed into a `window’, and the commūnicāre poterant, et `Locūtōrium’, in quō `Locutorium’, where you were able to actually talk microphoniīs ūtentēs vōcibus colloquendī using microphones. That site closed some time agooccāsiōnemhabēbant. Ille situs iamdūdum clausus but SCHOLA continues as a group on the Skype est sed SCHOLA ut grex apud Scypum continuāturplatform,Quae sunt īnscrīptiōnēs interrētiālēs illārum What are the web addresses of those organisations?societātum?Sīnōmen in Gregem Latīnē Loquentium dare vīs, If you want to register with the Grex Latine eundum est ad: Loquentium, it's http://www.man.torun.pl/archives/info/grexĪnscrīptiō SCHOLAE est SCHOLA's address ishttps://join.skype.com/i8T6Wgfi2cej

Dē historiā linguae Latīnae

Philologīne crēdunt linguam Latīnam dēlinguā Do philologists believe that Latin developed out of anvetustiōre ēvolūtam esse? earlier language?Ita est. In linguīs antiquīs et hodiernīs multae indicā- That’s right. In ancient and modern languages there tiōnēs inveniuntur quae prōbent plūrimōs sermōnēs are a lot of indications that most languages spoken Eurōpaeōs multāsque linguās Indicās ex ūnā linguā in Europe and also many Indian ones were derivedorīginālī derīvātās esse. Lingua illa hypothetica from one original language. That hypothetical appellātur `Indo-Eurōpaea’. Argūmenta clāra in language is called `Indo-European.’ You’ll see clear hāc tabulā vidēbis, similitūdinēs enim inter omnēs evidence in this table, as the similarities between all

_Sī sententia litterīs posteriōribus scrībitur, habē- If the sentence is written with the later letters, we get:mus:MANIOS MED FHEFHAKED NUMASIOI. Perītī MANIOS MED FHEFHAKED NUMASIOI.Expertscrēdunt hanc sententiam linguāclassicā redditum believe that translated into the classical language esse `Manius mē fēcit Numeriō’ this would be `Manius made me for Numerius` .Audīvī complūrēs perītōs affirmāvisse hanc fībulam I’ve heard that some experts have claimed that thefalsam esse et saeculō decimō nōnō fabricātam fibula is a fake and was actually made in the 19th century Sunt quī sīc affirment, sed nuperrimē probātiōnēs There are those who claim that. However, just, scientificī dēmōnstrāvērunt fībulam rēvērārecently scientific tests have shown it’s really very old. antiquissimam esse. Cūr lingua nostra nōn `Rōmāna’ sed `Latīna’ Why is our language not called `Roman’ instead of appellātur? Nōnne erat lingua Rōmānōrum, quī eam `Latin’? Wasn’t it the language of the Romans, who per tōtam Eurōpam occidentālem prōpagāvērunt? spread it all over western Europe? In prīncipiō Latīna erat lingua nōn tantum Rōmae Originally, Latin was the language not just of sed tōtius rēgiōnis quae `Latium’ appellābātur. Rome but of the whole region that was called Latium.Quandō lingua Latīna in eam formam quam nunc When did the Latin language change into the form retinet mūtāta est? which it still retains?Normae grammaticālēs quae in scholīs docentur āThe standard grammar which is taught in schools scrīptōribus atque grammaticīs abhinc duo mīlia was esablished by writers and grammarians two annōrum conditae sunt. In aevō mediaevālī, thousand years ago. However, in the Middle Ages tamen, et annīs recentiōribus Latīnistae nova vōcā- and in more recent times, Latinists hav econtinued to bula fingere pergunt quia semper oriuntur rēs coin new words because there are always new things novae dē quibus hominibus est colloquendum. which people need to talk about.Quandō Latīna cessāvit esse lingua quam infantēs When did Latin cease to be a language which infantsdomī audiēbant et imitābant? heard and imitated in the home ?Nunquam cessāvit, quod linguae Rōmānae It never ceased to be that, because the modern hodiernaenihil aliud sunt quam formae novae Romance languages are just the new forms into whichin quās lingua Latīna ipsa in rēgiōnibus dīversīs Latin itself gradually changed in different regions. sēnsim mūtāta est.Sed crēdō, quamquam sermōnēs regiōnālēs semper But I believe that although the regional dialects dīversiōrēs fierent, hominēs doctiōrēs inter sē kept on diverging, better educated people continuedLatīnēcommunicāre perrēxisse. to communicate in Latin among themselves. Rectissimē dixistī. Scholārēs, inter quōs fortasse You’re absolutely right. Scholars, among whom clārissimus erat Alcuinus Eborācēnsis, laborābant perhaps Alcuin of York was the best known, kept on ut normae grammaticālēs stabiles et uniformēs working so that grammatical norms remained stable manērent. Lingua Latīna in ecclēsiā et in adminis- and uniform. Latin was used in the Church and until trātiōne saeculārī adhibēbātur et usque circiter around the year 1100, throughout southern Europe annum millēsimum centēsimum per tōtam Eurōpam hardly any writing was done in the vernaculars and meridiōnālem linguae vulgārēs vix scrībēbantur et almost all documents were composed in Latin. Thenpaene omnia documenta Latīnē compōnēbantur. French, Italian, Spanish etc. started to be employed Deinde linguae Francogallica, Italica, Hispānica et more and more but right up until the 17th century, cēterae magis et magis adhibēbantur sed usque ad Latin was the international language throughout the saeculum decimum septimum lingua Latīna lingua whole of Europe. In 1687, the book entitled erat internātiōnālis per tōtam Eurōpam. Annō 1687 Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematicaliber cui titulus Philosophiae NātūrālisPrīncipia (`Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy’), in Mathēmatica, in quō Isaacus Newton theōriam gra- which Isaac Newton put forward his theory of gravity,vitātis prōposuit, nōn Anglicē sed Latīnē ēditus est.was published in Latin, not EnglishItaque omnēs doctī , ex quācumque gente ortī, inter So all educated people, whatever their nationality,sēLatīne sine difficultāte colloquēbantur? spoke Latin among themselves without difficulty? Epistulās facile inter sē scrībēbant, sed per terrās It was easy for them to write to each other, but variās prōnuntiātus variābat. Trādunt Catherīnam, pronunciation differed a lot from country to country prīncipessam Hispānicam, et Artūrium, prīncepem The story is that the Spanish Princess Catherine and Anglicum, quī annō 1501 in connūbium intrāvērunt, the English Prince Arthur, who were married in 1501, antequam Catherīna in Angliam advēnerit, per corresponded very happily before Catherine arrived in litterās Latīnās multā cum iūcunditāte communicā- England. But, when they met, they had great difficultyvisse, sed, cum convēnissent, tantum magnā cum talking with each other. difficultāte colloquī potuisse. Audīvī Elizabētham rēgīnam, fīliam frātris Arthūriī, I’ve heard that Queen Elizabeth, Arthur’s niece spoke Latīnē peritissimē locūtam esse. Nōnne ōlim cum Latin extremely well. Didn’t she once have a public lēgātō peregrīnōpūblicē Latīnē disputāvit? argument with a foreign ambassador in Latin?Ut vidētur, historiae Britannicae bene studuistī! It seems you’ve studied British history very well! The Lēgātus Polōnus, quī in aulācōram nōbilibus āPolish ambassador, who was being welcomed by the rēgīnā excipiēbātur, nōn verbīs mollibus et blandīs queen in full court, did not use soft and ūsus est sed statim dē rēbus ab Anglīs gestīs questum complimentary language but immediately complainedlongum fēcit. Rēgīna, quae omnia bene intellēxerat, at length about English actions. The queen, under-maximē īrāta, Latīnē ex tempore et magnā cum elo- standing everything, was very angry and scolded thequentiā locūta est ut Polōnum miserum vituperāret! poor Pole in eloquent, ex tempore Latin.Postquam lingua Latīna munere linguae francae After Latin ceased to function as a lingua franca, howfungī cessāvit, Eurōpaeī quōmodo inter sē commu- did Europeans communicate with each other? nicābant? In saeculō decimō octāvō, cum Francogallia cīvitās po- In the 18th century, when France was the most tentissima esset, lingua Francogallica internātiōnālis powerful state, French became the internationalfacta est sed in Eurōpā centrālī et orientālī lingua language but in central and eastern Europe Latin lostLatīna tantum lentē recēdēbat. Nisi fallor, usque ad ground only slowly. Unless I’m mistaken, Latin was annum 1844 Latīna erat lingua officiālis parlamentī the official language of the Hungarian parliament Hungaricī. Post Bellum Mundānum Prīmum, cum until 1844. After the 1st World War, when the Americānae magnam auctoritātem obtinērent, lingua Americans were becoming very infuential, the Anglica maximī momentī fiērī coepit. Englishlanguage started to become predominant.Cūr linguae vulgārēs linguam Latīnam, quae per tot Why were the vernacular languages finally able tosaecula vigēbat, postrēmō superāre potuērunt? displace Latin, which had been flourishing for so long? Causae sunt variae sed fortassē inter eas maximī There are various reasons but among them the most Momentī erat nātiōnālismus, nam lingua Latīna mo- important was probably nationalism, as the Latin derātōrēs et scholārēs tōtius Eurōpae ūnificābat sed language unified European rulers and intellectuals intrāquamque gentem illōs ab concīvibus dividēbat. but within each nation divided them from the rest

Fībula Praenestīna

_Exemplar ēditiōnis tertiae librī c.t.Principia Mathematica_

_Dē operibus mediaevālibus et recentiōribus

Post fīnem Imperiī Rōmānī, multī scrīptōres Latīnē After the end of the Roman Empire, many writers con-scrībere perrēxērunt. Quae opera maximī momentī tinued to write in Latin. Which works are the most sunt? important ones? Difficile est respondēre quod tot opera praeclāra It’s difficult to answer that because so many famousper multa saecula compōnēbantur. Fortasse works were produced over the centuries. Perhaps weprīmum mentiōnem facere dēbēmus Sanctī should first mention Saint Augustine, who was writing Augustīnī quī paene eōdem tempore opera sua around the time that the barbarians were taking scrībēbat, quō barbarī terrīs Rōmānīs potiēban- possession of Roman territory. However, the political tur. Ēversiō politica tamen eum nōn sollicitābat upheaval didn’t bother him as he believed it was ofquia crēdēbat minimīmomentī essequī regerent, little importance who was ruling, so long as the rulers dummodo rēctōrēs essent Christiānī. were Christians.Nōnne Augustīnus ille dē linguīs discendīs quoque Didn’t Augustine also express an opinion on languagesententiam suam expressit? learning?Ita vērō. Ipse in scholālinguam Graecam didicerat, Yes, indeed. He’d learned Greek himself at school butquae minimē eum dēlectābat. Methodum enim didn’t much enjoy it. He said that the method of his grammaticōrum sevērōrum affirmābat multum strict teachers was very different from that by which h differre ab illā per quam sermōnem māternum he had learned his native tongue. In chapter 23 of the didicisset. In capitulō vigēsimō tertiō librī prīmō first book of his Confessions, he wrote as follows:Cōnfessiōnum haec verba scrīpsit:`Difficultās `The constant difficulty of learning a foreign omnīnō ēdiscendae linguae peregrīnae quasi felle language was like a poison spoiling all the sweetness aspergēbat omnēs suāvitātēs Graecās fābulōsā- of theGr eek myths. I didn’t know any of the words rum narrātiōnum. Nulla enim verba illa nōveram, and I was constantly being threatened with savage et saevīs terrōribus ac poenīs, ut nōssem, instābā- terrors and punishments to make me learn them.tur mihi vehementer.' Eheu, omnibus saeculīs in omnibus terrīs discipulī Oh dear, students have suffered the same kind of terrorsterrōrēs eiusdem generis passī sunt! Crēdō tamen in every century and in every country. However, I thinkmethodōs hodiernās paulō mitiōrēs esse! Sed ad modern methods are a bit gentler! But let’s get back torem ipsam redeāmus. Nōmina aliōrum scrīptōrum he subject. Give me the names of some other authorsmihi dīc. Libenter dīcam! Inter Anglōs quī dē rēbus in pat- With pleasure! Among English historians who’ve riā gestīs scrīpsērunt prīmus erat Bēda, monāchus written about their own country, the first was Bede, a quī annō septingentēsimō trīgēsimō prīmō opus monk who finished his masterpiece, The Ecclesias-magnum suum, c.t. Historia ecclēsiastica gentis tical History of the English Nation, in the year 731 atAnglōrum Gyruī in Northumbriā perfēcit. Eōdem Jarrow in Northumberland. The year of his death - annō fortasse - septingentēsimō trīgēsimō quīntō – 735 – was perhaps also that of the birth of Alcuin, theBēda est mortuus atque nātus est Alcuinus, English scholar who worked at the court of thescholar Anglicus quī in aulā Imperātōris Carōlī emperorCharlemagne in Aachen to raise standards Magnī Aquisgrānī labōrābat ut Latīnitās tōtius of Latin all over Europe. Eurōpae meliōrārētur. Alcuinī mentiōnem in conventū priōre fēcimus. Iam We mentioned Alcuin in the previous meeting. And nowrecordor quoque Bēdam verba cuiusdam dē `Anglīs’ ` I also remember that Bede reported someone’s words et angelīs’ retulisse. about `Angles’ and `angels’.Rectē dīxistī. Rēs agitur dē Gregōriō, quī annō You’re right. It involved Gregory, who became Pope quīngentēsimō nōnāgēsimō Pontifex factus est. in the year 590. Bede wrote that before his election heBēda scrīpsit eum, ante electiōnem suam, Rōmae saw some prisoners in Rome and asked about their captīvōs vīdisse et dē gentē eōrum rogāvisse. Cum nationality. When Gregory found out they were nōvisset eōs Anglōs esse, Gregōrius, `Bene,’ inquit, Angles, he said, `That’s fitting, for they also have nam et angelicam faciem habent, et tālēs angelō- angelic faces and such people deserve to share the rum in caelīs decet esse cohaerēdēs.’ angels’ inheritance in heaven.Dubitō quīn eī quī nunc puerōs Anglōs in scholīs I doubt if people who teach English boys in schoolsdoceant dē natūrā angelicā discipulōrum suōrum nowadays speak about their pupils’ angelic loqueantur! Relinquāmus, tamen, pontificēs sanctōs- nature! Anyway, let’s leave popes and saints and talkque et dē historiā saeculārī colloqueāmur. about secular history, Sī tālia requīris, prīmum in mentem venit nōmen If that’s what you want, the first name that comes to Einhardī, quī saeculō nōnō dē Carolō Magnō mind is Einhard, who wrote a biography of scrīpsit. Hic liber, cui titulus est Vīta Karōlī Magnī Charlemagne, entitled Vīta Karolī Magnī. The book’s apud http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ein.html at http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ein.htmllegī potest. Inter opera Britannica memorandus Among British works, mention should be made of the est liber quem Asser, epīscopus Cambrēnsis, dē book which Asser, a Welsh bishop, wrote about Kingvīta rēgis Aelfredī scrīpsit. Asser, quī ipse mūnere Alfred. Asser, who had himself worked as a scholar at scholasticō in aulāAelfredī functus erat, affirmā- Alfred’s court, maintained that his master had been bat dominum suum nōn tantum `rēgem Angul- not only `king of the Ango-Saxons’ but also `leader of Saxōnum’ sed etiam `omnium Britanniae īnsulae all the Christians of the island of Britain.’ The text is,Christiānōrum rectōrem’ fuisse. Hic liber, quem at http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/asserius.html in http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/asserius.htmland the book is a particular favourite of mine because invenētis, mihi maximē cordī est quod Notting- it mentions Nottingham, my native town, and gives hāmiae, urbis meae natīvī, mentiōnem facit et names for the place in English, Welsh and Latin:nōmina Anglicum, Cambricum et Latīnum inclūdit: Nottingham, which is rendered `Tigguocobauc’ inSnotengaham, quod Britannicē 'Tigguocobauc'British (i.e. modern Welsh tŷ ogofâu) and `speluncā-interpretātur, Latīnēautem 'spēluncārum domus'. rum domus’(i.e. `house of caves’) in Latin. The Urbs in saxō mollī aedificāta est, itaque multae city was built on soft rock and so many caves havespēluncae effossae sunt. been dug outNōnne in millenniō secundō post Christum nātum Presumably there were also many historians who con-multī historicī Latīnēscrībere perrēxērunt? tinued writing in Latin in the second millennium A.D?Rectē dīxistī. Plūrima exempla afferre possem sed Correct. I could give lots of examples but I will justtantum mentiōnem Raimondī dē Aguillers faciam, mention Raymond de Aguillers, the author of The quīGesta Francōrum et aliōrum Hierosolymitārumdeeds of the Franks and of the other Jerusalemites. Hescrīpsit. Rēs dirissimās narrāvit dēcaede a mīli-recorded dreadful things about the slaughter carried tibus Christiānīs post urbem Ierosolymās annōout by the Christian soldiers after their capture of 1099 captam effectā: `in templō et in porticūthe city of Jerusalem in 1099:` In the temple and theSalomōnis (i.e. in templō Islamicō quod Al Aqsa portico of Solomon (ie.in the mosque known as Al appellātur), equitābātur in sanguine usque ad Aqsa) people were riding in blood up to their kneesgenua, et usque ad frēnōs equōrum iustō mīrōque and up to the bridles of their horses; it was a just and Dei iūdiciō, ut locus īdem eōrum sanguinem wonderful judgement of God that the very same place exciperet,quōrum blasphēmiās in Deum tam should be filled with the blood of those whose longōtempore pertulerat.’ Sīlineās dēaliīs blasphemies against God it had for so long endured.' operibus extractās legere vultis, librum ab Keith If you want to read extracts from other works, Sidwell scrīptum, Reading Medieval Latin spectāre you can look at Keith Sidwell’s Reading Medieval potestis, in quō relātiōnēs et nōtae Anglicae Latin which also contains commentary and notes in.quoque praebentur. EnglishIn aevō mediaevālī nōn tantum historicī sed etiam In the Middle Ages not just historians but also therectōrēs dēquibus scrībēbant linguam Latīnam rulers they were writing about used Latin.adhibēbant. Ita est. Rēgēs, praelātī atque cancellāriī epistulās Yes, kings, princes of the Church and officials used to Latīnās mittēbant accipiēbantque. Etiam rēgēs send and receive letters in Latin, Even the kings of Lithuānicī, quī usque ad medium saeculum Lithuania, who were unwilling to convert to the decimum quartum fidem Christiānam accipere Christian religion until the middle of the 14th century nōlēbant, cum Pontifice et rectōribus aliārum had to communicate in Latin with the Pope and thegentium Latīnē commūnicāre dēbēbant. Nuper- rulers of other peoples. I’ve just recently read the rimē ipse verba praeclāra rēgis Gedimīnae lēgī, famous words which King Gediminas adressed to the quae nuntiīs pontificālibus dīxit: `Papam vestramPope’s representatives: `I do not know your Pope and nec nōvī nec nōsse cupiō: fidem ac rēligiōnem,have no desire to know him: I shall remain in the faithquam paternā trāditiōne accēpī, in eā permanēbō, and religion which I received handed down from our certāns pro illī sanguine usque ad mortem.’ fathers and will fight for with with blood until death.’ Sī tirōnēs textūs mediaevālēs simplicēs dēsīdērant, If beginners want simple medieval texts, what oughtquae sunt legenda? they to read? Fortasse legendae sunt fābulae quae appellantur Perhaps they should read the stories known as the Gesta Rōmānōrumet verisimiliter in GermāniāGesta Romanorum (`The Deeds of the Romans’) andsaeculōdecimōquartō ineunte scrīpta sunt. probably written in Germany at the beginning of the Complūrēs fābulae apud situm Univeritātis Sanctī14th century. Several of the stories can be read on Ludovīcīlegīpossunt – the St. Louis University site:http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/languages/classical/latin/tchmat/readers/gr/gr1.html In aliō sitū inveniētis ūnam fābulam nōtīs amplissi- On another site, you’ll find one story with lots of mīs īnstrūctam, quam paene omnēs tirōnēs sine of notes added, which almost all beginners will be magistrō intellegere poterunt. able to understand without their teacher. http://www.german-latin-english.com/emperor1.htmTitulus fābulae est `Dē Superbiā et ArrogantiāThe title of the story is `On the Pride and ArroganceImperātōris Ioviniānī’. Eadem fābula, nōminibus of the Emperor Iovinian.’ This same story, with et variīs rēbus minōribus mūtātīs, in versibus ab names and some details altered, can be read in verse poētā Americānō Henrīcī Longfellow scrīptīs, quī written by the American poet Henry Longfellow, who titulum `Robert of Sicily’ elēgit, legī potest. chose the title `Robert of Sicily’.

_I’ve heard that one of our members has recentlytranslated some medieval poems into English.That’s right. I selected four poems writtenbetween the 10th and 12th centuries and addedEnglish translations. All of them are about young love and the seasons of the year, with simple,pleasant rhythms. Please listen to the start of the first poem.

The summer has returned, gratifying to all,and the grass is growing strongly in the meadows.The woods are decorated with foliage,for thus they are renewed with leaves.The vile mists, the cloudy weather, was so tedious to us.But now with April’s gratifying return flowers spring up on all sides,the nightingale with its song.re-completes the charm of the groves.and the maidens in the village squaresdance intricate group dances.

_Certissimē versūs sunt pulchrī! Ubi talia carmina They’re cetainly beautiful lines. Where can youlegī possunt? read poems like that?Illa carmina dē quibus colloquimur ad omnēs The poems we’re discussing will be sent to all sodālēs cum epistulā electronicā mittentur. Sī alia members as an email attachment. If you want requīris, in variīs librīs et sitibus interretiālibus others, lots of poems are available in variousmulta carmina praebentur, sed multa sunt quae books and web sites., but there are a lot whichnunquam typīs expressa sunt et tantum in manu- have never been printed and are only found in scrīptīs inveniuntur. Exempla versuūm classicōrum manuscripts. Examples of classical and of et mediaevālium in librō eximiō c.t. Penguin Book of medieval poetry ate contained in the excellent Latin Verse continentur, quī annō millēsimō nōngen- Penguin Book of Latin Verse, which was tēsimō sexāgēsimō secundō ēditus est. Ēheu, nunc in published in 1962. Unfortunately it can’t be tabernīs nōn invenīrī potest sed exemplāria vetera ā found in the shops now but old copies can bevendōribus interretiālibus emī possunt. Eundum est bought from sellers on the Internet. You need to ad hunc situm : go to this site.http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Book-Latin-Verse/dp/B0000CLCVO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329110009&sr=1-1Bene, sed nunc de operibus Latīnīs recentiōribus collo-Fine, but now let’s talk about more recent works inquāmur. Sciō in Renascentiā et posteāmultōs librōs Latin. I know that many Latin books were Latīnōs ēditōs esse, et in Germāniā usque ad saeculum published in the Renaissance and afterwards, and .decimum septimum quotannīs plūra opera Latīna in Germany up till the 17th century more works quam Germānica typīs expressa esse. were printed in Latin each year than in Germany. Rectissimē dīxistī. Quamquam post aevum medium You’re absolutely right. Although after the linguae vernaculārēs in diēs maiōris momentī fiēbantur, Middle Ages the vernacular languages were hominēs doctī necnōn politicī, ut anteāinter nōs est growing continually in importance, scholarsdīctum, inter sē Latīne colloquī et scrībere perrēx- and statesmen, as we’ve said before, continuedērunt. Inter scholārēs quī in Renascentiāipsāto speak and write in Latin among themselves. flōrēbant, Aenēās Silvius haudquāquam spernendus among the scholars of the Renaissance itself,- est. Aeneas Silvius shouldn’t be overlookedNōnne ille, postquam pontifex ēlectus est, Pius Wasn’t he known as Pius II after he was electedSecundus appellābātur? Pope?Ita. Annō mīllēsimō quadrigentēsimō quīnquāgēsimō That’s right. Aeneas ascended St. Peter’s octāvō Aenēās thrōnum Sanctī Petrī ascendit, pontifi- throne in 1458 and remained pontiff for sixcātum sex annōs usque ad mortem suam gessit. Dum years up till his death. Amazingly, whilst ecclēsiam regit, mīrābile dictū, dē tōtāvītāsuālībrum presiding over the church he wrote a completescrīpsit cui titulus est Commentāriī Rērum Memorā- autobiography under the title Commentariesbilium. Aenēās, sīcut Iūlius Caesar, dē sē tertiāon Memorable Events. Aeneas, like Caesar, persōnā sed modō vīvidō scrībēbat. Exemplī grātiā, wrote about himself in the third person but audīte haec verba dē conventū ecclēsiasticō in quō but in a lively way. For example, listen to these ipse postrēmō pontifex factus est :"Noctis medium words about the conclave at which he him- efflūxerat, cum - ecce - Bononiēnsis Aenēam adit et self was finally made pope: `It was past mid- dormientem excitāns 'quid ais' inquit 'Aenēa? nescīs night when – lo and behold – the Cardinal ofquia iam pāpam habēmus? in lātrīnis convēnērunt Bologna came and woke Aeneas. `What have aliquot cardinālēs statuēruntque Vilhelmum ēligere'... you to say, Aeneas?’ he said.`Don’t you know Aenēās: `Fefellistī mē, immō vērō tē ipsum et patriam we’ve now got a pope? Some of the cardinals tuam Italiam nisi resipis'" [Lib. I,36] Crēdō illum met in the toilets and decided to elect William. Vilhelmum fuisse cardinālem Francogallicum. Textus Aeneas said: `You’re having me on – unless integer Latīnus cum versiōne Anglicā adversā in seriēyou’ve lost all respect for yourself and Italy `Bibliothēcā Tattiānā’ nūper ēditus est et complūrēs your country. (Bk. 1, ch. 36). I think `William’pāginae in Interrētī apud `Librōs Gūglaeānōs’ legī was a French cardinal. The whole text in Latinpossunt. with facing English translation was published recently and some pages can be read on the Internet in Google BooksNōnne Italus quīdam fere illō tempore in BritanniāDidn’t some Italian around the same time havemūnere fungēbātur et dē histōriā Britannicāscrīpsit? a job in Britain and write on British history? Fortasse dē Polydōrō Vergiliō loqueris, quī annō Perhaps you’re talking about Polydore Vergil, millēsimō quīngentēsimō prīmō Britanniam vēnit who came to Britain in 1501 to collect church ut vectigālia ecclēsiastica colligeret, deinde ārēge taxes and was then asked by King Henry VII Henrīcō septimō rogātus est ut histōriam Anglicam to write a history of England. That book, scrīberet. Quī liber, annō mīllēsimō quīngentēsimō which came out in 1534, is a very important trīgēsimō quartō ēditus, fōns maximī momentī est source for people working on the reigns ofeīs quī rēs sub rēgibus Henrīcō septimō et Henrīcō Henry VII and Henry VIII.. The Latin text octāvō gestās investigant. Textus Latīnus ūnā cum is available on the internet together with an versiōne Anglicā in interrētī praebētur apud English translation at:http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/polverg/http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/polverg/ Polydōrus quoque exemplum Iūliī Caesaris secūtus Polydorus also followed Julius Caesar’s est, nam opus ita incipitur:`Britannia omnis ..., īnsula example, as the book begins like this : `The in oceanō contrāGallicum lītus posita, dīviditur in whole of Britan, an island in the oceanpartēs quattuor, quārum ūnam incolunt Anglī, aliam opposite France, is divided into four parts,Scotī, tertiam Uāllī, quartam Cornubiēnses. Hī omnēs one of which the English inhabit, another thevel linguā vel mōribus seu īnstitūtis inter se differunt. Scots, the third the Welsh and the fourth theCornish. All these differ in language, customsor institutions.Inter aequālēs Polydōrī, celeberrimus erat Thomas AmongPolydorus’s contemporaries, the most More, auctor operis Latīnī cui titulus erat Ūtopia. In famous was Thomas More, author of a Latinhōc librō agitur dē īnsulāfīctā in quō omnia īnstitūta work Utopia. The book is about an imaginary politica sociāliaque quam optima sunt. island with perfect political and social institutionsIta, sed disputātur utrum stātum rērum fingeret Yes, but there’s controversy over whether he quam ipse dēsīderet an īrōnicē scrīberet! was imagining his own ideal or being ironical.Saeculīs decimō septimō et decimō octāvō quoque multa In the 17th and 18th centuries also many Latinopera Latīna in Britanniā scrībēbantur. Exemplī grātiā, works continued to be written in Britain. ForFranciscus Bacon, philosophus et homō politicus, dē example, Francis Bacon, the philosopher and rēgnō rēgis Henrīcī septimī histōriam scrīpsit, quae statesman, wrote a history of the reign of Henryannō mīllēsimō sescentēsimō vigēsimō octāvō ēdita est. VII, published in 1628 and available at:In http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/henry/praebētur. http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/henry/Iōhannēs Milton, quamquam ob versūs Anglicōs hodiē Although John Milton is famous today for hiscelebrātur, carmen longum dē coniūrātiōne Guidōnis English poetry, he also wrote a long Latin poemFawkes Latīne composuit, quod legere potes apud Guy Fawkes’ conpiracy, which you can read at:http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/milton/Neque est http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/milton/obliviscendus Vincēns Bourne, poēta annō mīllēsimō and we shouldn’t forget Vincent Bourne, a poetsescentēsimō nōnāgēsimō quīntō nātus, quī multa born in 1695, who wrote many Latin poems, carmina Latīna scrīpsit, ut `Planētae sunt habitābilēs’: like `There are habitable planets’:

Nōs sēdēs aliās, aliōs exquīrimus orbēs; We are looking for other homes, other worlds; nōs ferrī impavidō vastum per ināne volātū great passion impels us to voyage in fearlessĪngēns urget amor; iuvat, ō iuvat īre per ignēs flight though the vast emptiness; it is delight, aethereōs, lustrāre altī vāga lūmina caelī yes, delight to to go through the aetherial stellārumque aperīre domōs. fires, to survey the wandering lights of highheaven and open the mansions of the stars

Nōnne Sīvaeus ipse identidem negāvit sē membrum Hasn’t C.Y. himself repeatedly denied that he is a Factiōnis Commūnisticae esse? a member of the Communist Party?

Ita vērō sed cōnstat eum in iuventūte sēcrētārium Indeed he has, but it’s well-known that at a young designātum esse Cōnsiliī Cōnsultātīvī Lēgī Fundamen- age he was appointed secretary of the Basic Lawtālī Scrībendae. Dīvulgāta quoque est fāma Sīvaeum, Consultative Committee. It's also rumouredcuius pater erat, custos pūblicus humilis, pecūniam that C.Y, who’s father was a low-ranking ā Factiōne Comūnisticā accēpisse ut in ūniversitāte police officer, received money from the party so Britannicā stūdēret. he could study at a British University.

Reclāmātiō mēnse Iūliō factaErāsne inter reclāmātōrēs quī Kalendīs Iūliīs per viās Were you among the demonstrators who tookHoncongī prōcēdēbant? to the streets of Hong Kong on 1st July?Ita vērō. Hōc annō in Hortīs Victōriānīs, ut semper, I was indeed. This year we gathered, as usual, congregātī sumus. Deinde usque ad sēdēs nōvās in Victoria Park. Then we marched to the govern- regiminis in Nāvālī sitās prōgrediēbāmur. Multae ment’s new headquarters in Admiralty. It was hōrae actae sunt antequam omnēs ad fīnem pervēn- many hours before we reached the destination imus quod custōdēs pūblicī nōs nōn sinēbant per because the police didn’t allow us to march in all omnēs orbitās viārum ambulāre. the lanes of the roads..Nōnne Honcongēnsēs quōquō annō illō diē contrā Don’t Hong Kong people demonstrate against rectōrēs itareclāmant? their rulers on that date every year? Rectē dīxistī. Prōpositum maximī momentī est pos- You’re right. The most important objective is to tulāre ut Administrātor Prīncipālis et omnēs legislā- demand that the Chief Executive and all the tōrēs suffragiīs populī creentur. Hoc annō multī legislative councillors should be elected by uni- irascēbantur quod suspicēbantur Sivaeum esse versal suffrage. This year many people were membrum clandestīnum Factiōnis Communisticae angry because they suspected C.Y. was a secret itaque ante Kalendās Iūliās in sitibus interretiālibus member of the Communist Party and so before 1st.saepe apparēbat sententia 反狼抗共 (Obsistite Lupō, July websites often carried the slogan反狼抗共 Resistite Commūnistīs!). Diē ipsāmultī vōcibus strī- (`Oppose Wolf, resist the Communists’). On thedentibus flagitābant ut Sivaeus munus depōneret. Day itself many people called noisily for C.Y. toInter eōs tamen quī in viīs prōgrediuntur, ut annīs resign. However, among the marchers, there were, priōribus, aliī aliās rēs poscēbant. Exemplī grātiā, as in previous years, people demanding differentipse vīdī paucōs fautōrēs autonomiae Tibetānae things. I myself saw a few `Free Tibet’ supporterset aliōs quī rogābant ut omnēs incolae in scholīs and others asking for all residents to be able to occāsiōnem linguae Sīnicae bene discendae habērent. learn Chinese properly in school.

_Reclāmātōrēs per viās īnsulae Honcongī prōcēdunt

_Crēdō multōs quī tantum Anglicē communicāre sciant I believe that many people who only know Englishmuneribus honestīs Honcongī fungī. Cūr necesse est still have good jobs in Hong Kong. Why does omnibus linguam Sīnicam discere? everyone have to learn Chinese? Sī rēs tantum agitur dē muneribus honestiōribus in If it’s just a question of the higher posts in multi- sociētātibus internatiōnālibus vel acadēmicīs, cōn- national companies or seats of learning, I agree sentiō linguam Anglicam saepe sufficere. Sed in that English is often enough. However, in middle-. muneribus mediōcribus plērumque necesse est ranking positions it’s generally necessary not Sīnicē nōn tantum colloquī sed etiam legere scrībere- only to be able to speak Chinese but also to read que scīre. Difficultātēs maximās patiuntur Honcon- and write it. The greatest difficulties are faced gēnsēs dē stirpē Indicā, Pacistānicā vel Nepālicā ortī, by Hongkongers of indian, Pakistani or Nepali,quōrum līberī in scholās locālēs recipiuntur sed, whose children are admitted into local schools nisi litterās Sīnicās ab aetāte minimā discunt, ē clas- but, unless they started learning written Chinese sibus normālibus exclūsī nōn linguae Sīnicae sed at a very early age, are excluded from normal Francogallicāe stūdent. Classes and study French rather than Chinese.Iam `Lupus’ duōs mēnsēs civitātem nostram adminis- `Wolf’ has now been running our city for two trat. Oriunturne contrōversiae novae? months. Are there any new disputes emerging? Hīs diēbus multī reclāmant contrā disciplīnam novam Recently a lot of people have been protesting nōmine `ēducātiōnem nātiōnālem’ quam regimen vult against a new subject called `national education’ in omnibus scholīs instituere. Prōpositum est efficere which the government wants to introduce into the ut Hōncongēnsēs dē Sīnā plūra sciant et vehementius schools. The aim is to make Hong Kong peoplesentiant sē Sīnēnsēs esse. Perīculum, tamen, est nē know more about China and feel more Chineseregimen rēvērā in animō habet discipulīs suādere ut However, the danger is that the government reallyfactīs et cōnsiliīs regiminis centrālis Factiōnisque intends to persuade students to support the act- Commūnisticae faveant, itaque multī affirmant istam ions and policies of the central government and disciplīnam nihil aliud esse quam methodum quāthe Communist Party. So many claim that subjectmentēspopulī in servitūdinem redūcantur! Ob tālēs is just a means of brainwashing people. Because sollicitūdinēs, inter omnēs ministrōs nostrōs apud of such worries, out of all our ministers the mostpopulumminimam grātiam habet Eduardus Ng, unpopular is Edward Ng, who has the job of cuius mūnus est novam disciplīnam intrōdūcere. introducing the new subject.Dē feriīs aestīvīs huius annī (2012)Honcongīne feriās ēgistī an iter fēcistī? Did you spend the holidays here or go on a trip? Ad Eurōpam cum uxōre fīliāque iī ut duās septimānās I went to Europe with my wife and daughter to in Britanniā, ūnam in Francogalliā habitārēmus. Mīrā- spend two weeks in Britain and one in France. bile dictū, dum familiārēs amīcōsque in Britanniā vīsi- Amazingly, we had good weather almost all the tābāmus, paene semper caelō benignō fruēbāmur! time while we were visiting friends and relations.Quid in Francogalliā fēcistis? What did you do in France? Vōlēbāmus reliquiās Rōmānās in regiōne merīdionālī We wanted to see Roman remains in the south, Galliae vidēre quae ōlim `Gallia Narbōnēnsis ‘ appel- which was once known as `Gallia Narbonensis.’ lābātur. Itaque prīmum ad urbem Nîmes (vel, ut So we went first to Nîmes (or, to use the ancient nōmen antīquum memorēm) Colōniam Augustam name Colonia Augusta Nemausus.) We looked at Nemausum) pervēnimus. Amphitheātrum in tōtāthe amphitheatre, which is the best preserved in Eurōpā optimē cōnservātum inspeximus, et aquae- the whole of Europe and also visited the veryductum praeclārissimum vīsitāvimus per quem well-known aqueduct, which once used to carry ōlim aqua ad urbem dūcēbātur. Nōn tantum aquae- water to the city. We didn’t just admire the aque-ductum in rīpīs flūminis stantēs admirātīsumus sed duct from the banks of the river but also walked etiam per canālem in tabūlātō suprēmō ambulāvimus. along the channel on the top level. For most of its Suprā partem magnam illīus canālis restant quadrāta length it still has the slabs by which it was quibus tectus erat nēaqua vīsōlis ēvapōrārētur sed covered to prevent the water evaporating in the in dīversīs locīs tectum nōn iam manet itaque aspectus sun but at various points the roof is missing and amoenissimus flūminis et collium praebēbātur. Intrā so you get a marvellous view of the river and the canālem ipsum iuxtāmūrōs massās ingentēs lapidis hills. Inside the channel itself we saw against the calcāriī vīdēbāmus quae ex aquā fluente gradātim walls huge lumps of limestone which had been dēpositae sunt. gradually deposited by the flowing water.

_Aquaeductus Gardēnsis dē parte superiōre flūminis vīsus_

_Aspectus interior canālis

Per tōtam septimānam Nemausī habitābātis? Were you in Nîmes for the whole week?

Minimē. Post quattuor diēs Perpiniānum, urbem in No. After four days we went on to Perpignan Catalōniā Citeriōrē prope Montēs Pyrēnaeōs fīnēsque in French Catalonia near the Pyrenes and the Hispāniae sitam, prōgressīsumus, ubi cum amīcīs Spanish border, where we spent three very trēs diēs iucundissimē ēgimus. Hospēs noster prīnci- pleasant days with friends. Our main host waspālis Latinista nōtissimus erat, quī dē regiōne ipsāa very well-known Latinist, who has an enormous atque histōriā eius scientiam maximam possidet. knowledge of the region itself and of its history. Epistulam Latīnam quam ille abhinc complūrēs A Latin letter he wrote some years ago about a annōs dē itinere pedestrī per montēs factō scrīpserat hike through the mountains is available on our apud situm nostrum Honcongēnsem legere potestis: own Hong Kong website at:http://linguae.weebly.com/epistula-de-expeditione-montana.htmlIlle nōbīs quoque expeditiōnem breviōrem cōnstituit, He arranged a shorter `expedition’ for us, with cuius meta erat ruinae castellī Visigōthicī prope the ruins of a Visigothic castle near Sorèdes as Sorēdum. Cum orbita abruptissima esset usque ad destination. As the path was very steep, we didn’t castellum ipsum nōn pervēnimus sed prandium get as far as the castle itself but we had a picnic subdiālem cōnsumpsimus, aspectū montium et campī lunch and enjoyed the view of the mountains and infrā iacentis fruītī sumus. Hospes noster nōs cer- of the plain lying below us. Our host told us that tiōrēs fēcit hanc tōtam regiōnem ōlim partem fuisse this region had once been part of the Visigothic regnī Hispānicī ā Visigōthīs conditī, quod saeculō kingdom established in Spain, which in the 7th septimō usque ad Rhodanum flūmen extendēbat. century extended as far as the River Rhone. Vamba, rēx praeclārus Visigōthōrum, exercitum Wamba, a famous king of the Visigoths, led his suum trāns montēs Pyrēnaeōs dūxit ut seditiōnem army over the Pyrenes to put down a rebellion, supprimēret, tandem amphitheātrum Nemausiānum, finally storming the amphitheatre at Nîmes, which quod castellum factum erat, expugnāvit. had been turned into a fortress.

_

Prandium montānum_

Nōnne etiam post aevum Visigōthicum Catalōnia Didn’t French Catalonia remain under SpanishCiterior sub diciōne Hispānōrum manēbat? Audīvī control even after the Visigothic period? I’ve heardtantum saeculō septemdecimō rēgiōnem Francogal- that the region only became French in the 17thlicam factam esse century.

Rectissimē dīxistī. Fortasse, tamen, nōn dīcendum That’s absolutely right. However, we probably est rēgiōnem illam ab Hispānīs rēctam esse sed shouldn’t say that the region was ruled by thepotius illō tempore incolās citrā vel ultrā Pyre- Spanish but rather at that time the people livingnaeōs habitantēs mōribus linguīsque nōn magno- on either side of the Pyrenees were not very pere inter sē distulisse. different from each other in culture or language.

Dē Lemurālibus antīquīs hodiernīsque

Quōmodo dīcitur Latīnē `Halloween’? Eratne apud What is the Latin for `Halloween’? Did the Rōmānōs festum ad umbrās pertinēns et simile illī Romans have a ghost festival similar to the onequod nōs nūper celebrābāmus? we’ve just been celebrating?Fortasse reddendum est `Lemurālia’ vel `Lemūria’, Perhaps the best equivalent is `Lemurālia’ ornōmen festī quod mēnse Maiō diēbus nōnō, ūn- `Lemūria’, the name of a festival that wasdecimō et decimō tertiō habēbātur. Diēbus illīs celebrated on the 9th, 11th and 13th of May. On patrifamiliās per domum retrō ambulandum et those days the head of the household had to suprāumerōs fabae reiciendae erant ut lemurēs, walk backwards through his home and throw scīlicet mānēs malignī, expellerentur. Secundum beans over his shoulders to drive out the poētam Ovidium, vocābulum `Lemūria’ anteā lemurēs (evil spirits of the dead). Ovid says thefōrmam `Remūria’ habēbat et auctor festī erat word `Lemuria’ was once `Remūria’and theRōmulus, quī umbram frātris Remī, ā sēipsōfestival was started by Romulus to appease interfectī, pācificāre volēbat. Dīcendum autem est the ghost of his brother Remus but thisphilologōs hodiernōs huic theōriae nōn crēdere. theory is not accepted by modern philologists. Ut vidētur, Lemurālia antīqua hodiernaque valdē It seems the old and the modern Lemuralia are inter sē differunt, nam Rōmāni crēdēbant per tālēs very different, as the Romans believed that theserītūs perīculāvēra prohibenda esse, nostra tamen rituals were necessary to avert real dangers but Lemūria nihil aliud est quam occāsiō lūdendī et our Lemuria is just an opportunity to play games epulandī. and have a party! Rēctissimē dīxistī. Iam paucissimī sunt quī umbrās You’re absolutely right. There are now very few lemurēsque rēvērā timent. Saltātiōnibus fruimur, people who are really afraid of ghosts and evil vestīmenta mīrābilia induimus, multa edimus bi- spirits. We go to dances, wear strange costumes, bimusque, līberōs vagantēs et `Dolum an dōnum!’ eat and drink a lot and welcome children who clāmantēs benignē excipimus. roam around shouting `Trick or treat!’Narrābantne Rōmānī fābulās dē umbrīs et monstrīs Did the Romans tell stories about ghosts andmīrābilibus? strange monsters?Ita vērō. Fortasse ipse recordāris fābulam dē versi- Yes. Perhaps you yourself remember the storypelle quam in capitulō septimō Cursūs Latīnī Canta-of the werewolf t almost all of usread in stage 7brigiensispaene omnēs lēgimus. Haec est versiō of the Cambridge Latin Course. This is a simplificātapartis librī c.t. Satyricon, quem com- simplified vesion of a section of the Satyriconposuit Petrōnius, ōlim amīcus deinde victima of Petronius, Nero’s one-time friend and later Nerōnis. Secundum Petrōnium, centuriō cui viātor victim. According to him. the centurion the trav- in viā obvēnit nōn erat novus sed in casā ipsīus eller met on the road was no stranger but lived viātōris habitābat. Petrōniī verba ipsissima audīte: in the traveller’s house. In the aithor’s words:Vēnimus inter monimenta: homō meus coepit ad We came into the graveyard: my man headed stēlās facere; sedeō ego cantābundus et stēlās nu- for the tombstones; I sit down singing and merō. Deinde ut respexī ad comitem, ille exuit sē count the gravestones. Then as I looked at my et omnia vestīmenta secundum viam posuit. Mihi companion, he undressed and put all his clothesanima in nāsō esse; stābam tanquam mortuus. At by the road. My heart was in my mouth; I wasille circumminxit vestīmenta sua, et subitō lupus standing there like a dead man. Then he urin-factus est. Nōlite mē iocārī putāre; ut mentiar, ated around his clothes and suddenly turned nūllīus patrimōnium tantī faciō. Sed, quod coe- into a wolf. Don’t think I’m joking; I wouldn’t peram dīcere, postquam lupus factus est, ululāre lie for any amount of money. But, as I was say-coepit et in silvās fūgit. Ego prīmitus nesciēbam ing, after he became a wolf he howled and fled ubi essem; deinde accessī, ut vestīmenta eius into the woods. At first I didn’t know where I tollerem: illa autem lapidea facta sunt. Quī morī was; then I went over to pick up his clothes - timōre nisi ego? Gladium tamen strinxī et in tōtā they had turned to stone! If any one’s beenviā umbrās cecīdī, donec ad vīllam amīcae perve- scared to death, it was me. However I drew my nīrem. sword and felled shadows all the way to mygirl’s house.Quid accidit postquam narrātor ad vīllam pervēnit? What happened after the traveller reached the Dē hāc rē omnīnō tacet Cursus Cantabrigiēnsis. villa? The Cambridge Course doesn’t tell us. Amīca viātōrī dīxit lupum ingentem paulō anteāThe girlfriend told the traveller that a littlepecus suum oppugnavisse sed lanceāservī vul- little while before a giant wolf had attacked their nerātum effūgisse. Cum viātor domum suam cattle but ran off when it had been wounded by redisset, invēnit centuriōnem, fōrmā hūmānā a slave's spear. When the traveller returned restitūtā, in lectō iacentem. In collō illīus cōn- home, he found the centurion in humanformspexit vulnus lanceā effectum. again and lying in bed. On his shoulder he sawthe wound made by the spear.

Sī tālēs fābulae tē tenent, certissimē legendus est liber c.t. De Bello Lemures, or The Roman War Against the Zombies of Armorica.

If stories like this interest you, then you should certainly read De Bello Lemures, or the Roman War against the Zombies of Armorica.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1449568696/ref=nosim/unrvromanempi-20Nōnne est error in titulō illō? Scrībendum est `bellō Isn’t there a mistake in that title? It should really Lemurālī.’ be Lemurālī.Ita vērō. Haec rēs auctōrī ipsī clārum est, quī, cum Yes, it should. The author himself is aware of that.ipse fābulam fīnxisset, ioculōsē simūlāvit sē textum When he’d thought up the story he pretended for a mediaevālem invēnisse et memorāvit Latīnitātem joke that he had found it in a medieval text and scrībae īnfimam esse. `Lemurēs’ autem vocābulum, wrote that the scribe’s Latin was very poor. Nevernōn contrānormās classicās ēlēctum est, nam in librīs theless, the choice of the word Lemurēs itself isn’tantīquīs nōn invenītur aliud verbum quō Anglicum against classical norms, as the ancient texts don’t`zombie’ reddātur. Hodiē, tamen, habēmus verbum have any other word to translate English `zombie’. neo-Latīnum `vemortuus’, quae frequenter apud However, today we have neo-Latin vemortuus,Gregem Latīnē Loquentium adhibēbātur. Nōnne tu which was used frequently in the Grex Latine Lo-ipse partēs vemortuī in spectāculō ēgistī? quentium. Haven’t you yourself played the part of a zombie in a show? Nōn vemortuus sed diabolus eram neque aliud fēcī I wasn’t a zombie but the devil and all I did was quam vōcem imprimere ut adderētur taeniae in quārecord my voice for a video in which the worldmundus vī diabolicādiē ultimō calendāriī Maiānī dēs- was destroyed by the devil’s power on the last struī vidēbātur. Ubi diē 20 Decembris anniversārium day of the Mayan calendar. During the 20Macāviae in diciōnem Sīnēnsem redditae celēbrābātur, December celebration of the anniversary of haec taenia in forō Macāviēnsī ostendēbātur. Sī rēs Macau’s return to Chinese sovereignity, the tē tenet, taeniam apud interrēte adhūc vidēre potes video was shown in a square there. If you are eundum est ad hoc vinculum: interested, you can see it by following this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEgeSVbPCK4Verba ipsa, quae in taeniā nōn clārē audiuntur, the words themselves aren’t clear on the video haec sunt: Mediā nocte, orbem terrārum morte, but here they are: At midnight, I will take overmetū et excidiō in potestātem meam redigam! Sōl the world with death, fear and destructuion! The tempestāte devorābitur! Magnetismus terrestris rever- sun be destroyed by storm! The terrestrial mag-tētur. Tellus in tenebrās clādēsque incidet! netism will reverse. Earth will fall into darkness and disaster!Dē dēclārātiōne pontificālīAudīvistī Summum Pontificemministeriō suō Latīnē You’ve heard the Supreme Pontiff resigning hisrenūntiantem. Quālis est Latīnitās eius? office in Latin. What’s his Latin like?Crēdō eum linguam optimē scrībere atque bene I believe he writes the language excellently andmodō ecclēsiasticō dīcere. In locīs quibusdam, tamen, speaks well in the church pronunciation. nimis celeriter loquēbātur atque ipse ūnum errōrem However, he sometimes went too fast and he made grammaticum fēcit. Erat etiam error typographicus one grammar mistake. There was also a typo in in textū orīgināliter in sitū Vaticānō positō sed iam ibi the text orignally uploaded to thr Vatican site but correctiōnēs factae sunt. Sī pāginam interrētiālemnow corrections have been made. If they visithttp://linguae.weebly.com/latinitas-pontificalis.html vīsitāvērunt, omnēs quōsnūgae grammaticae dēlec- all those who enjoy grammatical trivialities can tant occāsiōnem errōrēs corrigendī ipsī habēbunt. have a chance to correct the errors themselves.Benedictus linguā Latīnāūsus est ut `decisiōnem Benedict made use of Latin to communicate `a magnī momentī prō Ecclēsiae vītā’ commūnicāret sed decision of great importance for the life of thein vītā cottīdiānāaedium Vaticānārum nōnne lingua church in daily life at the Vatican, isn’t Italian ofItalica maiōris est momentī quam Latīna? greater importance than Latin?Rectē dīxistī. Post annōs sexagēsimōs in diēs minuitur That’s right. After the 1960s the number of thosenūmerus eōrum quī Latīnam bene intelligant itaque who understand Latin well has continually gonelingua Italica, quae in colloquīs infōrmālibus semper down and so Italian, which always had the domi- praevalēbat, in rēbus officiālibus quoque plērumque nant role in informal conversation, is also now adhibētur. Abhinc annōs sexaginta rēs valdē dissimilēs generally used for official purposes also. That fuisse ē hīs verbīs āPiō XII annō millēsimō nōngen- things were very different sixty years ago is appa-tēsimō prīmō dictīs apparet: Quid dignē celēbret hunc rent from the words spoken by Pius XII in1951: imperiālem sermōnem - βασιλικη γλωσσα āGraecīs How can one adequately celebrate this imperial appellābātur - quae vēra nōn ēnūntiat sed sculpit, quae language – basilike glossa as the Greeks styled it - in ēdictīs et sententiīs pecūliārī splendet gravitāte, quae which does not proclaim but engraves truths, in Latīnā Ecclēsiā līturgicō fruitur ūsū, quae dēnique which gives its own special splendour and weight Catholicae Ecclēsiae est magnī pretiī vinculum? to decrees and statements, which is employed in Nūllus sit sacerdōs, qui eam nesciat facile et expedītē the Latin Church’s liturgy and which is a bond oflegere et loquī! great value for the Catholic Church. Let no priest be unable to read and speak it easily and fluently!_

The BBC’s website carried a report entitled `Pope resignation: Who speaks Latin these days?, in which Reginald Foster, a celebratedproponent of Living Latin,, Nick Ostler, theauthor of Ad Infinitum: a Biography of Latin, and Mary Beard, Professor of ancient history in Cambridge University, expressed their opinions. This is the link to go to:

Didn’t Mary Beard (or should it be Barba’?) once say something rather rude about the Helsinki `Nuntii Latini’?

That’s
right. In her regular column for a Britishnewspaper, she claimed that `those charming Finns’
were wasting their spare time translatingthe
news into Latin and broadcasting it `to the waiting handful’

In fact many
professors of Latin do not think muchof `LivingLatin’ or
even hold it in contempt. One member of the Grex Latine Loquentium wrote this:on the reasons for such attitudes: `First, we won’t get our Ph.D. nor get `habilitated’ (so to
speak) by speaking Latin. Then the profesors want to inter-
pret texts and they think that speaking Latin
about
everyday matters is for children, not for intellect-tuals. Finally, they don’t want Latin handled
byothers who are not doctors or professors. Myself, I think the first reason is not very important but perhaps there’s something in the second and
third.

Still, those who are real fans of Living
Latin continue their work with enthusiasm. For example, in March on Facebook

there was a video posted with students at various levels interviewed in Latin. And weshould not forget one of our members is usingthese dialogues to upload some delightful videosto YouTube. Here is the link to the fifteen parts of `De Te Ipso':

Everyone knows most `living Latin’ enthusiasts like to practise the language while enjoying foodand wine. Are there many who can cook as well as consume?

Yes, indeed. For example, in the `Latin Weeks’ held under Robert Maier’s leadership and in theLexington conventicula which Terentius Tunberg organises, the participants prepare food together. On YouTube you’ll find a video in which another teacher, Jason Slanga, talks in Latin about the art of cooking.

And very recently a member of the Grex LatineLoquentium wrote very charmingly about his kitchen job. `It’s down to me as the family cook to prepare the equipment for dining well. Whenmy wife gets back it’s necessary that all the food (salmon, vegetables, hot broth made from peas withspinach and carrots, Persian bread sprinkled with, chopped-up garlic and oil, herb salad) with all its dishes and utensils have been got ready and put on the table.’ The same writer in another letter added this about his tasks : `Personally I love the art of preparing delicious food even though, asold age bears down, I may sometimes be a littletired from labours before the domestic stove and the burden of shopping at least six hundred times a week,

It’s well written but I don’t understand what `esicia’, `aliīs’ and `pānis persicus’ mean.

`Esicia’ is a medieval word, which has many other forms such as `esocius’, `isicius’, `isox’, `esox’. The classical word, which is found in Pliny’s works,is `salmon’. `Aliīs’ is the ablative form of the noun `āliium’, which is also spelt `allium’ andcalled `garlic’ in English. `Pānis persicus’ is the kind of bread that’s eaten in Iran. In the Farsi language, it’s called `naan’ as all those who dine regularly in the Indian restaurants in this town know.

Can you cook yourself?

For many years I lived alone and so learned to cook simple food. After I married my wife, for several days I did the cooking, but I was so deficient in the culinary art that my spouse soon decided to take charge of the kitchen herself.

Enough about food! Has there been any discussion ofwine in the Grex recently?

Most certainly. Here are verses another membercomposed. Bacchus, of course, is the god of wine and Amphitrite the goddess of the sea.

What are your orders for me, Bacchus? I’m here! I’ll follow your commands.I’ll drink many cups but if less, let me perish!Let my ladles be as many as the fish the movingsea, where laid open, carries in its bosom!as the apples autumn brings, or frosts winter,As the flowers the earth brings forth in spring.

No, I only started studying in Hong Kong but, as Spanish is very similar to Latin, it isn’t difficult for me to understand simple sentences.

I’ve heard that after South America fell under Spanish and Portuguese control, Latin literatureflourished there for many years.

Indeed so. Many Latin works were written in America but perhaps the most famous American work was not produced in America itself but inEurope. I’m talking about the poem entitledCountry Life in Mexico, which was published in 1781 by a Guatemalan Jesuit priest, Raphael Landivar, who was exiled to Europe after the suppression of his order. In his introduction he expressed his love for his native land with great eloquence:Hail, dear parent, sweet Guatemala, hailThe delight, source and origin of my lifeHow pleasant, mother, to think of your gifts Climate, springs, byways, churches, spiritsNow I seem to behold your leafy mountainsAnd green fields, gift of spring ploughing

The verses are beautiful but I think the author hasmixed up his long and short vowels. Shouldn’t wesay `Guātimāla’ and `orīgō’?

Now the deer calls me again to happy fieldsA deer coming to rivers from forest shadeBringing the horned herd in winding lineSee! Seven deer with outstanding bodiesWhose vast bulk surpasses a huge bullockWith these she compares lines written by Virgilhimself in Book I of the Aeneid:And first the leaders, holding heads highwith tree-like horns he slays, then the rest,confusing all with spears midst leafy gladesnor stops till in triumph seven great bodiesHe lays low in number equaling his ships

Did the author just write about animals andplants?

No, he also wrote about the inhabitants’ various activities, and this picture in included in the printed text. In it, youngsters are shown fastened with ropes and revolving round a pole.

You said that the author was a Guatemalan, so I’m surprised he wrote `Mexicana’ not `Americana’ in his title.

The author himself answered in his preface :I titled the poem `Rusticatio Mexicana’both because almost all its contents areconcerned with the Mexican countryside and as I feel that all of New Spain is called`Mexico' in Europe, without taking any account of the different regions.If you want to read the poem, a reproduction of the whole of the original edition has been uploaded to this site:

In 2001 an edition was published by a Guatemalan university names after the author himself. As well as the Latin text, this included a long Spanish introduction and translation, but only the original verses and the introduction can be accessed on the Internet:

Are there other works of the same type still extant?I know José Rodriques de Mello wrote a poem inItaly called De Rebus Rusticīs Brasilicis Quattuor Libri but I’m not sure if he himself was Portuguese or Brazilian. The work was first published in 1781 but a later edition was printed in Lisbon in 1798 and this can now be read onthe Internet:

This edition also includes the poem `On the Production of Sugar’ by Prodencio do Amiral. Mellio’s work, which deals with the cultivation of nicotine and keeping cattle, has recently been re-published and can be bought on the Internet.

Perhaps European travellers, who returned to Europe after visiting America, also wrote in Latin.

Yes, indeed. Perhaps most interesting today are the account and engravings published in Frankfurt in 1591 by a man from Liège, Theodor de Bry. He claimed that both account and pictures were by Jacques le Moyne, who hadtravelled to Florida in the 1564 expedition and, after the French Protestant colony was destroyed by the Spaniards for economic and religious reasons barely escaped with his life to Europe. Experts dispute whether the pictures were really drawn by le Moyne in Florida but they most certainly illustrate the image of American Indians that stuck in European minds. Perhaps thebest-known is this picture in which an Indian chief shows the French leader the stone marker`engraved with the King of France’s arms’ which was set up the previous year by another Frenchman, Jean Ribault.

You can read the book, A short account of that which happened to the French in the American province of Florida, on the Internet on the first of these sites. If you just want to look at the pictures, go to the second:

Finally, mention should be made of a more recent work, brought out in 1912 by an American Latin teacher called Herbert Nutting. This book, entitled A First Latin Reader, includes many entertaining and simple stories dealing with North American history. Here is the first paragraph:

​`Once in a certain town in Italy there lived a boy who was called Columbus. He worked for a long time in his father's workshop. Bit the sea was nearby and the boy often used to go to the shore to see the ships, which went out from the port to various lands. There were many people on the ships, and Columbus often wanted to cross the sea himself; however at that time he had no money. But later, when he was already a young man, he sailed as far as Britain and Africa.'

The book can either be read on-line or downloaded to your own computer:

The `Occupy Central’ movement has now beenrunning for four weeks. There are not now asmany protestors as came together at the start butstudents are still blockading certain areas and there are sometimes clashes between them andthe police or opponents of the movement. What do you think about the situation?

Personally I believe that the demonstrators’ demands are just but that the movement is notrealistic as the central government is not going to give way and the majority of citizens, while not approving the electoral system proposed by the regime, are not sufficiently dissatisfied to fight hard for a better one.

The demonstrators claim the Beijing leadershave not done what they had promised earlier;however, the regime’s supporters and some British officials who discussed the return of Hong Kong to China with the Chinese before 1979 say everything has been done according to Hong Kong’sBasic Law.

It’s a complicated question because it depends on your definition of `democracy.’ The law says that our Chief Executive would be elected by a special committee in the first years after the handover and then `by universal suffrage according to democratic procedures’ but that the candidates themselves would always be nominated by a nominating committee. That committee has been constituted so that the majority are selected by commercial and other organisations who are known to be under the influence of the central government. In 2017 the Chief Executive will be elected by the people but nobody will be allowed to stand unless at least 50% of the committee has nominated them. In my opinion and, I believe, that of most Hong Kongers, such a system cannot be called democratic as only those the central government approves will become candidates. So the democratic parties are demanding `civil nomination’, with all those able to demonstrate a certain level of popular support allowed to stand.Why does the Beijing government not wantHong Kongers to choose a Chief Executive ina truly democratic manner? Whoever gets the job might sometimes criticise the centralgovernment but will co-operate with them in most things as we are so intertwined economi-cally with the mainland. And doesn’t Beijingrealize that the stricter they are on Hong Kong issues, the more vehemently the Taiwanese willoppose reunification?

There are various reasons for the hard line. Likethe Hong Kong tycoons who they’ve co-optedto work with them, they fear that if the citizenscan choose anyone they like, taxes could beincreased so more can be spent on the poor.They are also afraid that if one region is given more freedom, similar rights might be demandedin others, particularly Tibet and Xinjiang. Weall know that they’re obsessed by the memoryof the dissolution of the Soviet Union and alsothe recent movements aimed at splitting Britainand Spain.

So it would be very difficult for the demonstra-tors to achieve what they want. Will the movement be brought to an end without violence ?

Although one demonstrator was shown on TVbeing beaten by the police and opponents of thedemonstrations have sometimes used force, nolarge-scale riots have taken place. Most of thepolice are gentler than in other countries and the demonstrators are gentler than foreign ones.I expect the movement will gradually fade.

I hope you’re right about that.

Did you have a lot of things to do before Chinese New Year?

Indeed yes. We needed to clean the whole flat aand put everything in its proper place. I myselfhad to take out all the books from the book-cases so that I could clean the shelves as well as the books but my wife had more work as shenot only had to sweep and clean all the other things but also buy food and flowers for us and for grandma.

Did you dine with your relatives on the last day of the old year?

Yes, as always on that day, we had dinner at my mother-in-law’s with my sister-in-law and her husband. Then I took my daughter to the Flower Market, where she bought a balloon and a toy.

What did you do on New Year day?

We went to grandma’s flat to exchange greet-ings in the traditional way and have dinnertogether. On the second day we visited mywife’s aunt and in the evening again dined atgrandma’s and watched on television the fire-works show that always takes place in Victoria Harbour on that day.

Of course we have to give it to younger relatives, friends’ children and also the security guards not just in our own building but also in other ones which we visit regularly.What else do you do to celebrate the festival?We stick on the wall traditional sentenceswritten on red paper, for example `Dragon and horse spirit' (Lung Ma Jing San),`Bodily Health’ (San Tai Kin Hong) and `Peace as You Leave and Enter’ (Cheut Yap Ping On).

The Chinese start the New Year in the spring.What about the ancient Romans?

We believe that the Roman year originally began in March, for which reason the names Quinctilis, Sextilis, September, October, November and December were given to the months which became the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth after the start of the year was moved to January.

When was January made the first?That’s uncertain. Romulus is traditionally said to have founded the city in the month of March and made that month the start of the year and his successo Numa Pompilius to have added January and February to his father’s ten months and made January the first one. However, historians are sceptical about this story and the only thing they regard as certain is that the consuls once came into office on the Ides (15th) of March but from 153 B.C. on the Kalends (1st) of January. We believe the date was changed because it was often necessary for the consuls, after making arrangements in the capital, to reach Spain before the military campaigning season began,

Even if March was not the start of the year,perhaps a spring festival was still celebrated?

You’re right as the festival of Anna Perenna.which fell on the Ides of March, was a kind of continuation of the rituals which once marked not only the start of spring but alsoof the year. Although some Romans thoughtthat goddess was Anna from Tyre, the sisterof Dido, the name is really cognate with theword `annus’ (year). In Ovid’s Fastī, the poet described the celebrations in these verses:

`On the Ides is the pleasant festival of AnnaPerenna. Not far from your banks, strangerTiber, the common people come and drink,scattered all over the green grass and eachone lies back with his partner. Some bravethe open air, a few pitch tents, and somemake a leafy hut from branches. Some, aftererectingcanes for rigid columns, placespread-out togas on them. Still they are warmfrom the sun and the wine and they pray for as many years as they consume glasses, anddrink till they get to the number.’

Oh dear, the ancient example should not befollowed! To say nothing of the memberwho is only eight, even those of us over sixtywould get very drunk if we downed as many cups as we want future years!

There are many who still follow the old customs. On the day itself the whole family normally has dinner at home together, then, if the weather is goof, they go to a park or climb a nearby hill so that they can all eat moon cakes whilst looking at the full moon and the children can play with lanterns,

​You have been living in Hong Kong yourself for thirty years. Do you remember the first Mid-Autumn festival you spent here?

Yes, indeed. I was a secondary school teacher and very busy. As at that time I was living on my own, I decided to go up to the top of Victoria Peak on foot so I could look at the celebrations. I had never before done it like that, as previously I had only gone up on the Peak Tram, but I just kept on going up-hill and I reached the top without any problem. I remember very clearly that I immediately came across a hawker, who, as soon as he saw a gweilo face, pulled out a can of beer from his box and offered it to me. However, I didn't take it because I was extrmely thirsty and needed a non-alcoholic drink first. Then i spent some time looking at the families and the lanterns and returned home rather late. There was no problem with this because every year on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival the MTR trains keep carrying passengers right through the night and the next day is a public holiday.

What do we know about the origin of the festival?

In very ancient times the Chinese seem to have worshipped the moon as a goddess and under the Tang dynasty (618-907) first the nobles and then the common people started to sit outside and join in a party whilst they admired the full moon. In the Sung period (960-1279) the 15th day of the 8th month was fixed as the day for holding an annual celebration. You can read about this in the following page:

Yes indeed. People say that a woman named Seung Ngor consumed the elixir of immortality given to her husband by the Queen of Heaven herself and then immediately flew to the moon. Seung Ngor lives there for ever in the company of a giant rabbit and of a criminal who is always trying in vain to cut down a tree.. Some state that the woman stole the elixir from her husband by a trick, others believe that she drank it to stop a student of her husband from stealing it. See the following pages:

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